The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Creative Studio's Michael Spike' Szykowny Pulls Back the Curtain on Creative Process By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Monday, December 9, 2024 - 3:13 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
During more than 2 decades at ESPN, Michael Spike Szykowny has seen his share of innovations. However, the 10-time Emmy Award winner believes that tonight's The Simpsons Funday Football animated Monday Night Football altcast is unlike anything you've ever seen before in live sports.
The VP, edit animation graphics innovation creative production, ESPN Creative Studio sat down with SVG to provide an inside look at the monumental efforts that went into The Simpsons Funday Football, which premieres tonight on ESPN2, Disney , ESPN , and NFL (on mobile).
Michael Spike Szykowny, VP of Edit Animation Graphics Innovation Creative Production for ESPN Creative Studio,
The much anticipated, additive telecast will feature Bart as a member of the Bengals and Homer with the Cowboys, with Lisa and Marge serving as on-field sideline reporters. ESPN NFL analysts, and Simpsons enthusiasts, Mina Kimes and Dan Orlovsky will make their animated-telecast debut as they provide live in-game analysis. Drew Carter is set to provide play-by-play. The trio will call the game from ESPN's Bristol, CT, studios while simultaneously appearing as Simpsons-inspired versions of themselves within the telecast. A variety of other Simpsons characters will also be seen during the broadcast from Atoms Stadium in Springfield.
How did the idea for Simpsons Funday Football come about?
As we started looking at possibilities for our next [animated broadcast] this season, The Simpsons was at the top of our wish list, and, thankfully, [The Simpsons team] was up to do it. Part of it was dictated by the time of the game: Toy Story was early in the morning and seemed like a better time for kids, but a primetime game definitely works better for something like The Simpsons. Once we got the greenlight, we had about 3 months to put this together, but we were also working in parallel on Dunk the Halls [alternative NBA broadcast] so it has been a very busy time.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW: Inside the Tech That ESPN and the NFL Use To Bring Springfield to Life
PRODUCTION OPERATIONS: The Game May Be Set in Springfield, but the Production Team Is in Bristol
CREATIVE PHILOSOPHY: ESPN Creative Studio's Michael Spike' Szykowny Pulls Back the Curtain on Creative Process
TRACKING TECHNOLOGY: Sony's Beyond Sports CEO Sander Shouten Analyzes How Tracking Tech Enables Real-Time Animated Altcasts
MUSIC & THEME SONG: ESPN Records Unique Twist on Monday Night Football Theme for Animated Alternative Broadcast
What were your early conversations with the Simpsons creative team like?
Obviously, they have been doing this very successfully for 36 years, so we wanted them to take full ownership and determine the story they wanted to tell. It all started with the reason this game is happening. They came up with the idea of Homer falling asleep and the game taking place in Homer's dream. Inside Homer's dream anything can happen, so that gave us the main canvas to work with. Of course, you can't plan everything for a live game, but you can certainly plan the beginning, middle, and end, and we fill in the rest as the game is happening. I think it's also important to note that, from the start, the NFL was great about working with us and [the Simpsons team], hearing all of our ideas, and turning back very few.
What has it been like to work with such iconic property like The Simpsons?
They were wonderful partners, and they got the spirit of what we were trying to accomplish and jumped on board with how we have to work for a project like this. The Simpsons has always been edgy and not wanting to just repeat the same things. I think that [is evident] in [their] letting us work in that universe.
In every project like this, you start with a lot of people involved, and then you end up whittling it down to a core team that is going to be working on it every day. With that small group, we were able to move quickly and make decisions because you have to keep moving forward on these kinds of projects; there's no looking backward. The Simpsons [team] - especially [Executive Producer] Matt Sellman and [producer] Joel Cohen, whom we worked with closely - understood that very well. I feel like we were in sync with those folks. Of course, they're doing their show every week, and we're doing our day jobs so we all have a lot going on besides this project, but we were able to work together to get it all done.
The Simpsons is a 2D animated show, but tonight's game will feature 3D animation. How did that work?
[The Simpsons team] deserves so much credit for putting the trust and faith in us to make that [2D-to-3D] transition. They actually have done 3D in some of their Treehouse of Horror broadcasts in the past. We got models from the company that they used, and we built out a lot of it ourselves, too. We started with just the main characters - Bart, Homer, Lisa, Marge, and Maggie - and expanded the universe from there.
It's tricky because lighting for 3D is different from lighting for 2D and there are a lot of other factors that you need to account for. But, in the end, I think we pulled off. It was truly a team effort between us, The Simpsons, Gracie Films, and we also worked with our friends at Big Studios, who handled a lot of the 3D animation work. It was a true partnership, and I think that shows in the final product.
What lessons from the Toy Story Funday Football and Big City Greens Classic productions did you apply to this project?
It's interesting because they all have their own unique challenges and advantages. With Toy Sto
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Deepens Partnership with Taiwan's 62nd Golden Hors...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Blayke Scheer, Senior Director, Creative Content, YES NetworkThe Indiana alum has turned storytelling into an artform for more than two decadesBy...
25/11/2025
Op-Ed: With FCC's C-Band Auction on the Horizon, Broadcasters Need Proven, C...
25/11/2025
Analysis: Is Baller League really the future of sport? By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
With KSI on...
25/11/2025
Platinum Whitepaper: The Growth of Broadcast in the World of Major Large Scale E...
25/11/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: SVG Women's Sports WorkshopBy Samantha Gabay
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 10:27 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
25/11/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CacheFly's Matt Levine on the Evolving Role of th...
25/11/2025
Peacock's EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast Levels Up on Thanksgiving With SkyCam as...
25/11/2025
Mathias Broe attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Sauna at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Fes...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
Nielsen will now measure both Lionsgate's FAST channel MovieSphere and Movie...
The Simpsons Funday Football: ESPN Creative Studio's Michael Spike' Szykowny Pulls Back the Curtain on Creative Process By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S. 
