Home / News / NHL Big City Greens Classic: Capitals-Rangers game on March 14 to be league’s first-ever live, animated telecast

NHL Big City Greens Classic: Capitals-Rangers game on March 14 to be league’s first-ever live, animated telecast

By Chris Cerullo

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February 14, 2023 5:05 pm

The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers will be involved in a unique broadcasting experience when they do battle on March 14 at Madison Square Garden.

ESPN, Disney Channel, and the NHL are teaming up to bring fans the “NHL Big City Greens Classic”. It is described as the first-ever live, animated NHL game telecast.

Big City Greens is a popular animated television show for kids on the Disney Channel. Disney describes the show as an animated comedy adventure television series that “follows mischievous and optimistic 10-year-old Cricket Green, who moves from the country to the big city with his wildly out-of-place family — older sister Tilly, father Bill and Gramma Alice.”

The press release describes the NHL Big City Greens Classic as an “alternate presentation” that will feature “live, real-time volumetric animation of players and teams modeled after characters from the show. ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ will present the live, animated telecast, while the main telecast will still be available on ESPN and ESPN+.

The game sounds reminiscent of what the NFL has done in partnership with Nickelodeon in recent seasons. That game has led to hilarious moments like Patrick Star doing play-by-play and players being digitally slimed.

“Working with Disney Channel and the NHL, we are producing a telecast that will reach a new and different audience and help to grow hockey fandom even more,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, senior vice president of Programming and Acquisitions at ESPN. “‘Big City Greens’ has a huge following in a younger audience that we are excited to tap into, offering a fun and creative way to enjoy the game across Disney platforms.”

To make the broadcast possible, NHL Edge positioning data (puck and player tracking) will be used to recreate the action on the ice as it is happening in animated form.

ESPN commentators will call the action and “Big City Greens” executive producers Shane and Chris Houghton as well as Marieve Herington (the voice of Tilly) will feature in the presentation.

Here’s the full press release from the league:

ESPN, Disney Channel and the National Hockey League Team Up for First-Ever ‘NHL Big City Greens Classic’

NEW YORK (Feb. 14, 2023) — ESPN, Disney Channel and the NHL are teaming up to bring fans the “NHL Big City Greens Classic,” the first-ever live, animated NHL game telecast, featuring the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers, on March 14 at 7 p.m. EDT.

The alternate presentation of the Capitals-Rangers game will feature live, real-time volumetric animation of players and teams modeled after characters on Disney Branded Television’s Emmy® Award-winning animated comedy “Big City Greens.” ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ will present the live, animated telecast, while the main telecast will be available on ESPN and ESPN+.

“Working with Disney Channel and the NHL, we are producing a telecast that will reach a new and different audience and help to grow hockey fandom even more,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, senior vice president of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN. “‘Big City Greens’ has a huge following in a younger audience that we are excited to tap into, offering a fun and creative way to enjoy the game across Disney platforms.”

“We’ve said from day one that our partnership with The Walt Disney Company is a big win for our fans and our League,” said Dave Lehanski, NHL’s executive vice president of Business Development and Innovation. “We’ve spent years investing in a fast and accurate puck and player tracking system to help us grow the game. The ‘NHL Big City Greens Classic’ will demonstrate how we can leverage data from NHL EDGE — our puck and player tracking system — to create entirely new fan experiences for a younger audience in collaboration with incredible partners like The Walt Disney Company, ESPN and Beyond Sports. What a testament — to have the greatest animation company of all time leverage its incomparable creativity and IP to promote and grow our game.”

“Hockey is an incredibly exciting and animated sport, but we felt it wasn’t animated enough. We’re thrilled to be partnering with the NHL and ESPN to see the Greens lace up their skates and add a generous dash of ‘Big City Greens’ comedy to what is sure to be an entertaining game,” said “Big City Greens” creators and executive producers Shane and Chris Houghton at the exact same time.

The first-of-its-kind alternate presentation will leverage NHL Edge positioning data (puck and player tracking) 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. The real-time animation will be produced in association with ESPN Edge Innovation Center and NHL EDGE Innovation partners Verizon, Beyond Sports and Silver Spoon.

ESPN commentators will call the action for the “NHL Big City Greens Classic,” and “Big City Greens” talent, including the Houghton brothers and Marieve Herington (the voice of Tilly), will also be featured in the presentation. More details regarding the first-of-its-kind production will be announced closer to the game.

Headline photo via Disney PR

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