CBS SportsWild Card Weekend will bring an NFL broadcast like we’ve never seen before. Nickelodeon will air a simulcast of one of the CBS games, with some major, kids-centric twists.
CBS Sports officially announced the special simulcast of the game. It will be replete with slime graphics, clips from beloved Nickelodeon shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, googly eyes and comic book-style bursts of color, and other visuals.
It is certainly an interesting move. The NFL is usually pretty buttoned up about its brand and image. This is very much not that, but could be pretty genius if it gets a younger market into football early.
Time will tell if a big SpongeBob between the uprights as a field goal attempt with a slime-trail does the trick to introduce the sport to a whole new audience. It is definitely an inspired attempt, if nothing else.
SpongeBob, Slime, and Googly Eyes, @NFLonCBS and @Nickelodeon will present the NFL like you’ve NEVER seen it before on Wild Card Weekend.
Details on the January 10 broadcast here: https://t.co/NK00FW2vsN pic.twitter.com/x3wf1dqaIk
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 15, 2020
CBS Sports’ presentation of the AFC Wild Card game at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 10 will be rebroadcast on Nickelodeon.
That includes a call by Noah Eagle, son of longtime broadcaster Ian Eagle, as well as Nate Burleson and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green of Nickelodeon’s All That and Nickelodeon’s Unfiltered.
From CBS:
The NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon will also include a special halftime sneak peek of Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years, which follows 10-year-old SpongeBob SquarePants and his pals as they spend their summer building underwater campfires, catching wild jellyfish, and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest camp in the kelp forest, Kamp Koral. The series will debut in 2021 on ViacomCBS’s rebranded streaming service Paramount+ and then on Nickelodeon later in the year.
“This is a first of its kind presentation for the NFL together with Nickelodeon, and we are very excited to create a unique telecast that will maximize the co-viewing appeal for kids and families, while maintaining the integrity of the game and its traditions,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “Partnering with Nickelodeon to showcase the NFL Playoffs is a great opportunity to highlight the power, depth and reach of ViacomCBS, as we continue to unlock the true potential of our merged company with the first of many opportunities between CBS Sports and our ViacomCBS family.”
“Our game plan is to make sure the NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon definitely lives up to its name by infusing the telecast with Nick’s sensibility of surprise and fun at almost every turn,” said Brian Robbins, President of ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment. “We’re incredibly proud to team up with CBS Sports and the NFL to elevate the thrill of this game for kids and families to enjoy together.”
It’ll be fascinating to see whether this has the impact that CBS and the NFL hope. If nothing else, it should be entertaining to see some of the clips hit social media during the game, for us who will likely watch the traditional broadcast.
