Max, truTV to Air Animated NHL Alternate Broadcast Featuring Batman, Looney Tunes; RSNs Announce NHL, NBA Alternate Broadcasts
More and more sports teams and distributors are offering alternate broadcasts as the 2023-24 NHL and NBA seasons conclude.
How hard is Batman’s slapshot? Can Daffy Duck hit the five-hole? However improbable these questions seem, it appears they’re about to be answered! TNT Sports has announced that on Sunday, April 14, it will present an animated alternate broadcast of an NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights. The game will feature animated characters like Bugs Bunny, Shaggy, and Superman taking the place of NHL players and mirroring their actions on the ice in real-time, and it will allow Warner Bros. Discovery to flex its muscles and take full advantage of its ability to offer sports on multiple platforms.
- The “MultiVersus” animated NHL broadcast will air exclusively on truTV and Max.
- A character draft where teams will pick the animated characters who represent them will be held on April 7.
- The Chicago Blackhawks will also host an animated alternate broadcast this month, and the Washington Wizards and Capitals have announced new alternate broadcasts as well.
The animated NHL game headed for truTV and Max on April 14 at 3:30 p.m. ET has been dubbed the “MultiVersus NHL Face-Off.” In addition to Looney Tunes and DC animated characters, fan-favorites like Velma from “Scooby-Doo,” Finn the Human from “Adventure Time” and Steven Universe will be available for the Avalanche and Golden Knights to choose from.
On April 7, TNT’s postgame coverage of the game between the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres will include a draft of characters, allowing team representatives to decide which characters will represent their team’s players on the ice during the game.
The addition is reminiscent of Disney+’s addition of animated alternate broadcasts. In March, Disney+ offered its second “Big City Greens“-themed NHL game, and in September 2023 the service also hosted a “Toy Story” alternate broadcast of an NFL game.
Alternate broadcasts like the upcoming “NHL MultiVersus Face-Off” are popular among fans, and they’re a big part of the reason that 56% of respondents to a 2023 survey said that streaming sports games offered a better experience than watching them on linear TV. The interactivity and flexibility of streaming platforms make them the perfect destination for alternate broadcasts, and providers are increasingly willing to try them.
What Other Alternate Broadcasts Are Coming Before the 2023-24 NBA, NHL Seasons End?
An example of what Chicago Blackhawks players look like in their animated form.
NBC Sports Chicago+ will also provide an animated alternate broadcast of the April 6 game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Dallas Stars at 3:30 p.m. ET. This game will feature animated versions of the players themselves as opposed to popular cartoon characters and will play alongside the traditional broadcast of the game on NBC Sports Chicago.
According to the Washington Post, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards will also offer a total of eight alternate broadcasts between now and the end of those leagues’ respective seasons. Beloved former Wizards play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz will offer commentary for the broadcasts, which will also feature rotating guests in the style of ESPN’s “ManningCast” of “Monday Night Football” games. JP Finlay of 106.7 the Fan and of Monumental Sports Network’s Beltway Football podcast will take the primary host chair.
Alternate Wizards broadcasts will be available on April 9, 12, and 14, while the Capitals’ alternate casts will be available on April 4, 11, 13, 15, and 16. These new broadcast options will be available on the linear Monumental Sports Network as well as stream on the Monumental Sports Network App.
It will be fascinating to see if the trend of alternate broadcasts carries over into next year’s NBA and NHL seasons. Providers seem to be experimenting with them at the end of the 2023-24 seasons to get the data they need to decide if such broadcasts draw in the audiences they desire, or if they aren’t worth the effort and money they take to create.
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