On the heels of two successful alternate sports presentations, Disney returns with its second iteration of the NHL Big City Greens Classic sponsored this year by Verizon and a major entertainment brand. The live animated NHL game telecast featuring the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Boston Bruins will take place on March 9 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
"Innovation and creativity are at the center of everything we do at Disney,” said Deidra Maddock, VP, Sports Brand Solutions. “We continuously think outside the box to develop unique opportunities for brands to connect with consumers through our content and there is nothing more engaging than an animated sports telecast to bring new audiences and fans into the fold for live sports and exhilarating in-game moments.”
As the Presenting Sponsor of the fully animated offering, Verizon will have prime logo placement throughout the telecast and in-game signage throughout the Big City game environment. Verizon is a founding partner of the ESPN Edge Innovation Center, which helps adopt emerging technologies and advance experiences for sports fans with ESPN’s world-class storytelling.
The alternate presentation will once again leverage player tracking technology to recreate the action on the ice as it is happening while featuring “Big City Greens” characters skating alongside animated versions of the NHL players. New this time around, the presentation will blend two types of tracking technologies – NHL EDGE positional data (NHL Puck and Player tracking) and Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking – to create more dynamic player and character movement to help fans better visualize detailed limb and stick movement and mannerisms.
Disney continues to push the boundary of what’s possible for fans and brands, building on earlier live animated game telecasts including the first-of-its-kind Big City Greens Classic featuring the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers last year and the Toy Story Funday Football game last fall between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at the Wembley Stadium in London.
Media Contact:
Kristen Smith | Kristen.T.Smith@Disney.com