Bart and Homer of “The Simpsons” will participate in a real-time animated telecast of the December 9 Bengals vs. Cowboys Monday Night Football game.
The Simpsons Funday Football
The Simpsons Funday Football is Disney and ESPN’s second real-time animated event following last year’s Toy Story Funday Football.
The alternative viewing presentation will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, as well as on mobile with NFL+. The traditional telecast of the game will be on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes with “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli” on ESPN2. The traditional telecast and the Peyton and Eli telecast will also be on ESPN+. All three telecasts begin at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, December 9, and will be available in the ESPN App.
Internationally, “The Simpsons Funday Football” will be available on linear or streaming in more than 145 markets live and/or via replay, including all of Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia & New Zealand, Netherlands, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Canada (TSN). Video on Demand will also be available 12 hours after the live broadcast ends.
The immersive viewing experience comes to life thanks to state-of-the-art tracking technology enabled by NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Sony’s Beyond Sports, and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking.
AT&T Stadium will become Atoms Stadium in Springfield with Bart joining the Cincinnati Bengals and Homer teaming up with the Dallas Cowboys. The Bengals and Cowboys players will appear as motion-enabled animated characters. For most of the game, Bart and Homer will let the professionals play, but at key opportunities, they will each replace a player on the field.
Marge and Lisa will interview players and Maggie will fly the SkyCam, among appearances by other “The Simpsons” characters. “The Simpsons” creators collaborated on the look, sound, and feel of the presentation with ESPN and the NFL. They wrote original content that will be utilized before, during, and after the game, including animated segments incorporating Stephen A. Smith, Peyton, and Eli Manning.
Players from both teams will feature in pre-recorded segments interacting with “Simpsons” characters. Hank Azaria, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, and Yeardley Smith voice several of their characters in the prerecorded skits. Lisa, Krusty, Nelson, Milhouse, and Ralph will side with Bart and the Bengals. Carl, Barney, Lenny, and Moe will side with Homer and the Cowboys.
“Simpsons” fans Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will provide strategy discussion, while Drew Carter will call the game action. They will also be animated in the style of “The Simpsons” and wear ESPN Edge Innovation Partner’s Meta Quest Pro headsets to experience the game in Springfield thanks to VR and Sony’s Beyond Sports’ Virtual Commentator Technology.
Will you be tuning in to this year’s Funday Football? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
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