Sony's Beyond Sports Technology Powers Upcoming ESPN Monday Night Football Alternate Presentation-The Simpsons Funday Football
Brie Clayton November 12, 2024
0 Comments
Real-time visualization with NFL's Next Gen Stats will drive animated viewing experience to reach new audiences during Dec. 9 Bengals vs. Cowboys game
Sony's Beyond Sports is collaborating with ESPN , the NFL , Disney , and The Simpsons to produce The Simpsons Funday Football, a real-time animated alternate presentation of a Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. The Simpsons Funday Football alternate viewing presentation will stream on Disney and ESPN and on mobile with NFL .
A combination of data processing and real-time visualization technology from Beyond Sports will insert well-known characters from The Simpsons into the game action while the Bengals and Cowboys play in real time. This will be the second ever NFL alternate presentation Beyond Sports has collaborated with the NFL and ESPN on, the first being the successful three-time Sports Emmy Award winning NFL Toy Story Funday Football, featuring the 2023 Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars game in London, set in Andy's Room in the Toy Story Universe. That altcast was ESPN's first fully animated NFL telecast, delivering the biggest live event to-date on Disney (based on peak concurrency).
The Simpsons Funday Football altcast will demonstrate the potential of Beyond Sports' real-time visualization engine to build a broadcast that engages new and existing viewers, including multi-generational audiences, in an exciting and entertaining way. Fans can expect to see Homer and Bart on the sidelines, Marge and Lisa interviewing players during the game, Maggie operating the SkyCam, plus additional interactive elements including animated virtual commentators. Beyond Sports' virtual commentator technology further enhances audience engagement by inserting the actual announcers calling the game into the animated production. The technology uses a virtual reality headset to capture the real commentators' upper body movements and facial expressions and create 3D animations.
Sports leagues, broadcasters, and content producers must continually develop innovative options for reaching and retaining newer audiences that are accustomed to enjoying content experiences customized to their tastes, said Sander J. Schouten, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Beyond Sports. We are focused on meeting the expectations of each demographic by being visible on the platforms they are using and speaking in the way they want to be spoken to when it comes to their viewing habits.
The December telecast will use tracking data supplied by Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations and the NFL's Next Gen Stats, enabling Beyond Sports to create a viewing experience that complements the live game through an innovative blend of traditional sports broadcasting and fully animated storytelling.
Beyond Sports' technology processes and converts NFL's Next Gen Stats and Hawk-Eye tracking data into 3D recreations. The platform has had a transformative impact on the sports production world for several years, supporting high-profile projects for 25 of the major sports leagues worldwide.
Beyond Sports' technology makes it possible to combine two data sources, analyze, validate, enhance, translate to a 3D environment, and stream to a desired platform in real-time, with a delay of less than a second. Using visualization allows for the addition of more storytelling aspects to the broadcast. This can be done through the addition of a new 3D environment or characters, educational or entertaining clips, replays from all angles, and live virtual commentators. Special visuals, events, and animations can be triggered either manually or through the data adding additional storytelling layers and making the live stream more fun to watch.
The Dec. 9 altcast also marks the latest example of Sony's far-reaching efforts to help engage the next generation of NFL fans. As an official technology partner of the NFL, Sony's deep integration throughout the league's games extends to Beyond Sports' real-time visualization platform and Hawk-Eye Innovations' officiating and tracking technology, sideline photography, broadcast cameras and production, and the development of on-field and sideline technologies, including a new coach's sideline headset that will debut in the 2025 season powered by Verizon Business' Managed Private Wireless Solution running on Verizon's reliable 5G network.
November 14, 2024Enhance Image/Video/Audio Quality with VideoProc AI - 66% OFF This Black FridayVideoProc Converter AI has received a major update with several exciting features
November 14, 2024John Lennon Educational Tour Bus Uses Blackmagic Design PipelineNonprofit teaches technology, music and art to students nationwide. Blackmagic Design today
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
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...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Sony's Beyond Sports Technology Powers Upcoming ESPN Monday Night Football Alternate Presentation-The Simpsons Funday Football 
