The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers will be involved in a unique broadcast experience when they face off at Madison Square Garden on March 14.
ESPN, Disney Channel and the NHL team up to bring fans the NHL Big City Greens Classic. It is described as the first-ever live broadcast of an animated NHL game.
ESPN, @Disney Channel & The @NHL Team up for the NHL Big City Greens Classic
The first volumetric live animation of its kind #NHL game tv show feat. @Capital Cities vs @NYRangers
🏒 Tuesday, March 14 at 7pm ET@ESPNPlusdisney channel, @DisneyXD, @disneyplus
đź”— https://t.co/WywSViZQ5R pic.twitter.com/oZkgQ0owZO
— ESPN-PR (@ESPNPR) February 14, 2023
Big City Greens is a popular children’s animated television show on Disney Channel. Disney describes the show as an animated comedy-adventure television series that “follows the mischievous and upbeat 10-year-old Cricket Green as he moves from the country to the big city with his totally misplaced family — older sister Tilly, father Bill, and grandma Alice.” .”
The press release describes the NHL Big City Greens Classic as an “alternative presentation” that will “feature live, real-time volumetric animations of players and teams modeled after characters from the show. ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ will present the live animated show, while the main show will continue to be available on ESPN and ESPN+.
The game is reminiscent of what the NFL has been doing in partnership with Nickelodeon for the past few seasons. This game has resulted in hilarious moments how Patrick Star does play-by-play and players are digitally slimmed down.
“In partnership with Disney Channel and the NHL, we are producing a show that will reach new and different audiences and help grow the hockey fan base even more,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, senior vice president of programming and acquisitions at ESPN. “‘Big City Greens’ has a huge following with a younger audience that we’re keen to develop and offers a fun and creative way to enjoy the game across all Disney platforms.”
To enable the broadcast, NHL Edge positioning data (puck and player tracking) is used to recreate the action on the ice in animated form.
ESPN commentators will call the action and Executive Producers Shane and Chris Houghton of “Big City Greens” and Marieve Herington (voice of Tilly) will be featured in the presentation.
Here’s the full league press release:
ESPN, Disney Channel and the National Hockey League team up for the first-ever NHL Big City Greens Classic
NEW YORK (February 14, 2023) — ESPN, Disney Channel and the NHL are teaming up to bring this to fans “NHL Big City Greens Classic”, the first-ever animated live broadcast of an NHL game featuring the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers on March 14 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The alternate presentation of the Capitals Rangers game will feature real-time, live volumetric animation of players and teams based on characters from Disney Branded Television’s Emmy® Award-winning animated comedy, Big City Greens. ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ will present the live animated show, while the main show will be available on ESPN and ESPN+.
“In partnership with Disney Channel and the NHL, we are producing a television show that will reach new and different audiences and help grow the hockey fan base even more,” he said Ilan Ben-Hanan, Senior Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN. “‘Big City Greens’ has a huge following with a younger audience that we’re keen to develop and offers a fun and creative way to enjoy the game across all Disney platforms.”
“We’ve said from day one that our partnership with The Walt Disney Company is a huge win for our fans and our league,” he said David Lehanski, NHL Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation. “We’ve spent years investing in a fast and accurate puck and player tracking system to help us grow the game. “NHL Big City Greens Classic” will show how we can use data from NHL EDGE – our puck and player tracking system – to create completely new fan experiences for a create younger audience sports. What a testament that the greatest animation company of all time is using its unparalleled creativity and intellectual property to nurture and grow our game.”
“Hockey is an incredibly exciting and lively sport, but we felt it wasn’t lively enough. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the NHL and ESPN to see the Greens lace up their skates and add a generous dose of Big City Greens comedy to what is sure to be an entertaining game “. and executive producers Shane And Chris Houghton at the exact same time.
The first alternate presentation of its kind uses NHL Edge positioning data (puck and player tracking) to recreate the action on the ice as it takes place, with Big City Greens characters skating alongside animated versions of the NHL players. The real-time animation is produced in collaboration with the ESPN Edge Innovation Center and NHL EDGE Innovation Partners Verizon, Beyond Sports and Silver Spoon.
ESPN commentators will call out the action for the NHL Big City Greens Classic, and Big City Greens talent including the Houghton brothers and Marieve Herington (the voice of Tilly) will also be featured in the presentation. More details about this unique production will be announced shortly before the game.
Headline photo via Disney PR