The NFL’s foray onto Nickelodeon appears to be a hit — even if may be more popular for the nostalgic audience instead of the young audience.
The main broadcast of Sunday’s Saints-Bears playoff game was on CBS, but it was also simulcast on Nickelodeon with all the special effects of a kids’ show, including a heavy dose of slime on plenty of regular graphics.
When Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas scored the first touchdown of the game in the first quarter, a graphic showed cannons spraying slime — a Nickelodeon staple — into the end zone. The yellow first-down markers displayed on the screen were also covered in slime.
For those not listening in to Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, the Nickelodeon broadcast had Noah Eagle (son of the sports announcer Ian), former NFL receiver Nate Burleson and teenaged Nickelodeon stars Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Lex Lumpkin on the educational call.
“I am so excited to be able to share the game through my eyes with you guys,” Green tweeted during the game. “As a neophyte to the game I hope I can help all kids out there enjoy and learn a little about football.”
The broadcast invoked Nickelodeon shows — with one graphic comparing Saints quarterbacks Drew Brees and Taysom Hill to SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick, with another lead-in video calling the show, “SpongeBob SportsPants.”
Early returns of the Nickelodeon broadcast had social media enjoying the kid-friendly twist.
But it wasn’t just for kids.