You know the old joke:
I was watching an NFL playoff game and a kid’s TV show broke out.
That’s what happened on Sunday in the Wild Card playoff showdown between the Bears and the Saints. Unlike your standard issue NFL game however, this one was different. WAY different.
It was produced, packaged, and presented by Nick At Nite. And it was positively brilliant.
I was not the target viewer – not even close. This warped, stylized version of what could have been another nondescript, forgettable NFL game on TV was aimed at kids, but enjoyable to their parents (and grandparents).
It was unadulterated FUN to watch a treatment of an NFL game through the green slime lens of Nick, especially a contest that wasn’t particularly entertaining in the first place. It was positively transformative.
Thanks to the team at Nick, they animated an otherwise drab, crowdless affair and made it fun and interesting. You wondered how they would manage to dream up their own treatments of NFL traditions and rules. And to their credit, Nick At Nite’s animation crew didn’t miss a trick, as you can see by the array of screen caps below:
Oddly enough, I wrote about this game last week because several publications promoted it as streaming only (Amazon Prime and Twitch) with no broadcast coverage. But when I sought the game out on my Xfinity X1 remote, CBS and Nick At Nite both popped up as options. Nick was on top, and I was curious, so I immediately tried the oddest choice for an NFL playoff game.
And it was the best – by far. Several times, I flipped back to CBS’s “normal” coverage. Compared to Nick, it was like watching the game in black and white. You forget just how mundane the average football game has become. And how exciting they can be with some production, lots of flash, imagination, and jettisoning musty old traditions.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who came away with that impression. UPROXX’s Ryan Nagelhout summed it up this way:
“What Nickelodeon aired on Sunday was a legitimately entertaining broadcast of a pretty underwhelming playoff football game.”
SB Nation’s James Dator had a similar impression:
“The youth-focused presentation of the game made it not only perfect for kids, but anyone who wants to enjoy football without the grand seriousness of traditional commentary.”
And that was part of why it worked. The “announcing crew” was comprised of former NFL star Nate Burleson (left below), play-by-play guy Noah Eagle (son of CBS announcer Ian Eagle, right below), and young Gabrielle Nevaeh Green (middle) who brought the naivete of someone watching her second football game. And Nick star, Lex Lumpkin (pictured above right) roamed the sidelines, had fun, and even did a Barack Obama impression.
Burleson rocked it, bringing smart analysis, with enough of the remedial info to keep kids engaged, while impressing us grizzled vets.
And while you might not want to see Nick handle an entire season of NFL games, this was a refreshing change of pace, especially during this COVID-tainted season. And it made me wonder how other aspects of pop culture would take on the challenge of presenting a pro football contest.
A music version might include Dave Grohl and Ozzy Osbourne (play-by-play and color respectively), aided by Beyonce and Jay-Z handling pre- and post-game duties, with Billie Eilish roaming the sidelines.
But I digress…
The fact is, the NFL is onto something here. In much the same boat as other “mature” entertainment verticals (are you listening, radio?) a sharp effort to engage teens is a strategically smart idea. Given population shifts – younger and more ethnic, as we saw once again during this political season – the NFL, MLB, the PGA, and other sports leagues need to undertake serious self-analysis and some attention-getting tactics to ensure their fan base doesn’t morph into communities of AARP members.
Kudos to NFL commish Roger Goodell and his team for drawing up this risky-on-paper play, and to the Nick At Nite posse for reimagining NFL football in ways that even made penalties entertaining (and cross-promoted their Young Sheldon franchise):
Young Sheldon explaining NFL rules. Nickelodeon you sly fox you
— George Jarjour (@GeorgeOnTap) January 10, 2021
Bravo!
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Just opening my eyes this morning, Fred.
This article helped!
On point as always. (I sure HOPE Radio IS listening.)
Great share, good Guru!
Always appreciate you reading the blog & chiming in.
Baseball on the radio, in particular, needs to address its overall game presentation. The pace of the game is so slow that straightforward announcing simply doesn’t hold the audience anymore. The broadcasts need an injection of entertainment and excitement, be it sound effects that can create a visual for the listener, or simply a new, hip style of announcing. All options should be on the table for radio rights holders, with the hope that the teams understand that changes must happen if the loyalty of the past has any chance to continue in the future.
Agree on all counts, Jason. And this Nick At Nite transformation shows that a lot can be done by bringing in a different team with new treatments.
All good thoughts but with baseball these days being nearly 100% on TV (local channels too) – the coverage is diluted. Will the teams support 2 different broadcast teams?
Hi Fred: I had a different reaction. I’m not the target and I agree with you that it was meant for attracting a younger, and newer, audience. But, when I flipped over to watch on Nic, the Bears were lining up for a punt. Nate said something like, “it’s time for punt, which is a kick.” The ball was then snapped and kicked, and Gabrielle said something like, “wow! look how high it goes.” Not exactly great analysis for “Grizzled vets.” The camera, by the way, didn’t show “how high it goes,” as it was showing us the players running down field to make the tackle while yard lines were swirling all over the screen. It was a button pusher for me and at that moment I flipped back to the network broadcast.
The calculation to use Garbrielle (playing the role of a kid who never watches football) might have been off-target here – especially for even average football fans. Thanks for pointing that out – there were other similar cringe-worthy moments. Why not use a kid that actually enjoys football?
My favorite was Sponge Bob splitting the uprights!!! It shows what happens when you throw the rule book out and just try something!!!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always!!!
js
Thank you, John, for reading it and commenting.
Hi, Fred.
In Colombia, as in other Latin American countries, soccer is king.
The talk and sports stations have always been the ones that have broadcast the games.
However, at the end of the 90s we created Radioacktiva, a station with a format called ‘Pure Rock’, unique in the country and which is still in force and very successful, ranking for more than 20 years in the Top 10 of the most listened to stations in Bogota
The format is geared mostly to men 25-45, most of whom are soccer fans.
Inspired by “Beavis & Butthead”, at Radioacktiva we decided to broadcast football in their style but with our own ‘flavor’.
The original idea was to have two or three of our disc jockeys sitting on an imaginary couch watching the game and commenting on it just like friends do when they watch the game.
In fact, the announcers were not ashamed to say which teams they were fans of and, on the contrary, when their favorite teams played they only spoke well of them and ranted about their rivals.
There was a lot of humor and emotion. There was no lack of insults to the referee and raging screams every time the goals occurred, and when the opposing team was in possession of the ball, they began to talk about other topics, completely ignoring the achievements of the rivals.
In fact, when the rival team scored, they hardly mentioned that achievement.
In the end, this broadcast, which we named “Rocangol” (“Rock and Goal”), ended up winning the audience over traditional radio stations, and it is still number 1 on soccer broadcasts.
In fact, these broadcasts have been so important and successful that the presenters have traveled to broadcast live 3 World Cups in previous years.
As always happens when one wants to start a risky and innovative idea, at first few believed in us. The old radios mocked or criticized our broadcasts, but we were convinced that we could mix emotion and humor in old-fashioned sports broadcasts without the need to pose as experts.
Hence our slogan: “Rocangol: more passion, less technique”.
I LOVE that slogan, and this entire approach, Tito. Staging broadcasts with the vibe of fans sitting in a bar or living room watching the game very much replicates many similar experiences. This is a great story – thanks for sharing it! Rockangol!
Radio has “Classic Hits”, “Oldies”, “Rock”, “Classic Rock” –and maybe the NFL is about to introduce demo targeted NFL games. The Nickelodeon idea is awesome and with a little work can become a regular feature. But with the proliferation of video games these days – the NFL might be too tame for the younger audience.
All kidding aside-this is the kind of creativity that can help enhance any medium -and I’m sure we can all think of at least one that needs enhancement.
I love that it breaks down the narrow target demographic approach that’s been in place for decade. Thanks for these comments, Dave. Nick’s NFL game was a refreshing change of pace, even for someone (like me) who hasn’t watched Nick At Nite in a long time.
And now, Fred, I’m waiting for other channels to jump in, like The Food Network (with game-worthy snack ideas from chefs), The History Channel (with voice actors portraying historical figures), or Comedy Central (with one-liners to help get us through the blowouts).
Exactly, Dave. I especially like the Food Network treatment. The Turner Classic Movies version – not so much.
Not being a football fan, I wasn’t aware of this. Very cool! Thanks for posting.
Thanks for reading it, Denise. Hope all is well.