ESPN & Sony Extend Deal For More Animated Sports Coverage
Disney has announced that ESPN has expanded its agreement with Sony’s Beyond Sports, further strengthening its commitment to innovation and the use of state-of-the-art technology to expand its audience. ESPN and Sony’s Beyond Sports, along with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations technology, will continue to produce alternate telecasts going forward. These telecasts will utilise Disney’s extensive portfolio of Intellectual Property to transform live gameplay into real-time animations, a concept first introduced to fans by ESPN in 2023.
Disney has worked with Sony’s Beyond Sports on several animated alternate presentations, starting with “NHL Big City Greens Classic” in 2023. Since then, the NFL has partnered on multiple Funday Football presentations, powered by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and utilising Disney’s Toy Story and Simpsons IP. The NBA has also joined in with Dunk the Halls, featuring Disney’s popular characters, and a second “NHL Big City Greens Classic” in 2024.
With this new agreement, ESPN will produce animated telecasts for an NFL, NHL, NBA, and WNBA game across The Walt Disney Company and ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 season. More alternate telecasts are planned for the 2026-27 sports calendar year.
Kevin Lopes, Vice President, Sports Business Development & Innovation at ESPN, said in a statement regarding this deal:
“At ESPN, innovation has always been a driver in serving sports fans, including reaching new audiences. The Beyond Sports team has helped fuel our animated alternate casts, along with our league partners, creating an entirely new way for fans to consume our content. We look forward to continuing to produce these unique experiences for fans both this year and in the years ahead.”
Sander J. Schouten, Managing Director & Co-Founder of Beyond Sports, added:
“The addition of four new telecasts this season will bring our total with ESPN to nine – a reflection of how this partnership continues to grow year on year. Enabled by our technology, together we’re driving the evolution of fan engagement, creating new ways for fans to experience the game and redefining live sports storytelling.”
According to Disney, this partner to expand its audience is at the heart of animated alternate casts, designed to foster co-viewing and attract casual fans through innovative presentation and strategic distribution. ESPN research highlights that most children watch these telecasts with an adult, and non-sports fans contribute to a large portion of the social buzz. Leveraging Disney platforms like Disney+ for these altcasts has broadened the audience, driving growth. By prioritising entertainment and beloved Disney IP, these broadcasts also educate viewers on game rules and terminology, helping to fuel fandom.
Roger’s Take: We’ve already seen Disney team up with ESPN for a number of animated sport events featuring characters from Toy Story, Big City Green, The Simpsons and the classic five, but this new deal might make these sports event more regular. Sports brands like the NFL and NBA are constantly looking for new ways to connect with younger audiences, to try to make them life-long fans. Disney also gets to make new original content, while expanding the ESPN brand to families. This deal also shows that the previous events were popular enough to warrant expanding the deal.
Have you checked out any of the previous sports events? Let me know on social media!
