NFL Playoffs 2025: CBS Sports and Nickelodeon Go Beyond SpongeBob Universe, Boost AR Technology With Latest Slime-Filled Altcast AR graphics for Chargers-Texans are again driven by Silver Spoon Animation By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Friday, January 10, 2025 - 4:04 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Nickelodeon and CBS Sports are set to produce their sixth slime-filled alternative NFL telecast: NFL Wild Card Game Live From Bikini Bottom. And Saturday's SpongeBob SquarePants-themed presentation of the Chargers-Texans matchup will serve as a tribute to just how far these AR-graphics-fueled broadcasts have come - both technologically and creatively - since the first Nickelodeon altcast of an NFL game, in 2021.
You always want to top what you did the last time around; that's for sure, says CBS Sports' Shawn Robbins, who will once again serve as coordinating producer of the game. Our primary goals this time around are to bring in more characters than ever before and to push the technology further than we ever have.
Watch the best moments from Saturday's broadcast by clicking on the image above.
More Characters, More Fun: Upping the Ante After Super Bowl LVIII CBS Sports and Nickelodeon's sixth family-friendly collaboration on an NFL game - the third NFL Wild Card game - follows Super Bowl LVIII Live From Bikini Bottom, which won a Sports Emmy Award and marked the first-ever altcast for a Super Bowl.
Upping the ante for this outing, the Nickelodeon broadcast will feature appearances by fan-favorite characters from Paramount's portfolio beyond the SpongeBob SquarePants universe: Transformers, Hey Arnold!, CatDog, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Loud House, The Tiny Chef Show, The Fairly OddParents, Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many more.
We genuinely felt we hit a home run on the Super Bowl, says Robbins, but there is always room for improvement. We achieved our goals, got in everything we wanted to do, so we immediately started thinking about what we could do to give it a bigger feel. The SpongeBob universe is phenomenal, but there's a whole big world of Nickelodeon [IP] that we didn't touch on in the previous games. That's what we're bringing to this game. There will be some surprises and Nickelodeon characters you weren't expecting to see.
Silver Spoon Animation is once again at the center of the production, running eight Unreal 5.4 Engines from Pixotope (with redundant backups) to drive the augmented-reality-graphics operation. Three camera-tracking technologies are being deployed for the production: G3DVu, SMT, and Stype.
There is no better moment that show the power of augmented reality for sports TV than in situations like this, where it is actually part of the storytelling, says Jason Cohen, SVP, remote technical operations, CBS Sports. It isn't just there for eye candy; it's actually there to move the story ahead.
CBS Sports and Nickelodeon have also teamed up with SMT to create a new lineup of innovative, Nickified graphics, including:
Slime Zone: A touchdown celebration like no other, with virtual slime cannons filling the screen
Rope Line of Scrimmage: An imaginative twist on the traditional line of scrimmage
Best First Down Line Ever: A fun, gooey, animated line that adds excitement to every first down
CatDog Down and Distance: A playful graphic that adjusts length for varying yardages, inspired by the classic Nickelodeon duo
Red Zone Animations: Eye-catching visuals that highlight the action-packed moments inside the 20-yard line
SMT is also providing its SportsCG and QB Stat systems to power live game data and visual enhancements
Earlier this week, a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) scan of NRG Stadium in Houston to provide Silver Spoon with the 3D mesh model that will serve as the canvas for Saturday's presentation. Unlike at Super Bowl LVIII, for which the scan was done weeks in advance, the Lidar scan could not be performed until the playoff rankings became official following last week's regular-season finale.
For the Super Bowl, says Robbins, we knew the venue way in advance, and we had two weeks to prepare once we knew who the teams would be. But, for Wild Card, we find out not only the teams but also the venue, and we have less than a week to prepare since it's a Saturday game. The technical challenges have been a lot greater this week, especially since we've upped production. Yes, we did two Wild Card games in the past - New Orleans and Dallas - where we found out the week of the game, but, now that we've raised the bar in terms of the production, it's an even bigger lift.
In terms of the in-game AR-graphics workflow, the production team is using modified Xbox controllers to insert virtual elements on the field.
We've surrounded ourselves with the right people who know how to innovate, says Cohen. It's important to partner with the types of companies and vendors that can help elevate your overall product. When we started four years ago, the machines simply didn't have the processing power that they do today. We've come a long way in a rather short time.
Onsite in Houston: Side-by-Side Trucks, Real and Animated Announcers The Nickelodeon effort will be a side-by-side broadcast from separate trucks - Game Creek Video Peacock A and B units and Edit 1 truck - alongside the main CBS trucks (NEP Supershooter 4 units).
The Nickelodeon broadcast will have nine of its own manned cameras, as well as access to more than a dozen camera feeds from the main CBS broadcast.
Doing a regular game or a fully animated game is very different from meshing those worlds together, says Cohen. We are mixing regular-game coverage with the animated portion. That means you have to ensure normal NFL-game coverage in terms of s
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
NFL Playoffs 2025: CBS Sports and Nickelodeon Go Beyond SpongeBob Universe, Boost AR Technology With Latest Slime-Filled Altcast AR graphics for Chargers-Texans are again driven by Silver Spoon Animation By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
