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An alternate broadcast, also known as an altcast,[1] is a secondary broadcast feed of a sporting event. Altcasts are designed to showcase an event from a different perspective, including specialty camera angles, extended analysis, simulcasts with alternative commentary (including personality-based broadcasts containing entertainment elements, or geared towards specific demographics), and other unconventional formats. These broadcasts are sometimes carried on secondary linear channels owned by the event's rightsholder, but are more often carried on digital platforms.

History

[edit]

After its launch in 1993, ESPN experimented with using its new sister channel ESPN2 to carry alternative broadcasts of events from the main network, such as carrying a CART race entirely from the perspective of in-car cameras in 1994.[2] In March 2006, to mark the one-year anniversary of its college sports channel ESPNU, ESPN introduced a format known as "ESPN Full Circle" during a North Carolina–Duke college basketball game; ESPN would carry the main telecast, while ESPN2 would carry an "above the rim" camera angle, ESPNU would carry a feed focusing on Duke's student section, the network's broadband service ESPN360 carried a statistics-focused feed, while ESPN.com and Mobile ESPN offered supplemental digital content and interactive features (such as polls and chat rooms).[3] ESPN reported a total viewership of 3.78 million viewers (with 3.5 million on the main ESPN feed), making it the network's most-watched college basketball game since 1990.[4] The Masters Tournament in golf would begin experimenting with supplemental webcasts that year, introducing an "Amen Corner Live" broadcast focusing upon Augusta National's 11th, 12th, and 13th holes.[5]

ESPN would extend the Full Circle concept to other events, including a 2006 NBA playoffs opening game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat in April (which featured most of the aforementioned offerings from the North Carolina–Duke game),[6] and a Florida–Florida State football game in September—in which a split-screen feed of eight camera angles (including isolated shots of the teams' coaches and starting quarterbacks) was shown on ESPN2, and a skycam feed aired on ESPNU. The Los Angeles Times reported that the ESPN2 broadcast faced a mixed reaction from viewers, with one considering the split-screen format to be the "stupidest" thing they had seen in a sports broadcast since Fox's "glowing" hockey puck.[4]

With its joint rights to the NCAA men's basketball tournament with CBS Sports, Turner Sports began leveraging its networks for altcasts for its biennial broadcasts of the Final Four beginning in 2014; in conjunction with the main broadcast on TBS, TNT and TruTV would carry "Teamcast" feeds (later branded as "Team Stream powered by Bleacher Report"), which would feature coverage focusing upon each of the participating teams.[7][8][9][10]

In 2014, ESPN revamped the Full Circle concept for the BCS National Championship Game as the "Megacast", with its networks carrying broadcasts such as "BCS Title Talk" (featuring celebrity guests discussing the game), a "Film Room" broadcast on ESPNU with extended analysis of plays, a commentary-free feed on ESPN Classic, a "Command Center" with on-screen stats on ESPN Goal Line, and other viewing options on ESPN3 (including simulcasts of the teams' radio networks with additional camera shots focused on its players). These offerings would continue into the College Football Playoff era, with other concepts such as special editions of The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network (particularly when a team from said conference is participating), and broadcasts featuring alumni from the opposing teams as dueling analysts.[11][12][13][14]

TNT extended its "Players Only" franchise of NBA broadcasts with alternate All-Star Game broadcasts on TBS, featuring a panel of players as commentators.[15] In 2017, MLB Network carried a statistics-oriented broadcast of a game hosted by Brian Kenny, with contributions from Mark DeRosa and MLB.com analyst Mike Petriello.[16] In 2018 and 2019, Amazon Prime Video partnered with Funny or Die to present a comedic broadcast of the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, which featured comedians Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon portraying the fictitious local newscasters Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan (joined by fellow Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows as a reporter).[17][18][19][20]

In 2021, ESPN2 began to carry Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli during selected Monday Night Football games, which featured brothers Peyton and Eli Manning discussing the game with celebrities and sports personalities. The entertainment-oriented broadcasts proved to be critically successful, winning a Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Live Sports Series in 2022, and leading to ESPN entering into a long-term agreement with the Mannings' Omaha Productions to produce altcasts in a similar format for other ESPN sports properties.[21][22]

The popularity of the "Manningcast" influenced similar entertainment-oriented offerings from competing networks; in February 2024, TNT began scheduling more altcasts on TruTV as part of a gradual expansion of its sports output, including an NHL broadcast hosted by Paul Bissonnette and the panel of his Spittin' Chiclets podcast (which Bissonnette billed as an NHL "version" of the "Manningcast" in an interview), and NBA All-Star Game headlined by Inside the NBA panelist Charles Barkley and the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green.[23][24] Amazon Prime Video introduced several altcasts for its Thursday Night Football broadcasts upon their move to the platform in 2022, with selected games featuring broadcasts hosted by sports comedy troupe Dude Perfect, and LeBron James' The Shop.[25][26][27]

There have been several notable instances of alternate broadcasts tailored towards youth audiences. ESPN has offered a "KidsCast" broadcast for the Little League World Series and MLB Little League Classic, featuring students of the Bruce Beck School of Broadcasting.[28][29] The use of player tracking for analytics have also enabled entertainment-oriented broadcasts targeting youth: since 2021, CBS Sports and sister network Nickelodeon have partnered on altcasts of selected games aimed towards family co-viewing; all of the games have been called by Noah Eagle (son of sportscaster Ian Eagle) and Nate Burleson. The games have included augmented reality effects such as a geyser of the network's trademark green slime on a touchdown, replays with animation effects added to them, cameo appearances by other Nickelodeon characters as "reporters", attendees, or to provide additional explanations of rules, and other youth-centric features.[30][31][32][33] These efforts culminated at Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, where CBS provided the Super Bowl's first-ever altcast.[34][35]

Beyond Sports involved itself in two NHL altcasts re-creating a live game using real-time 3D animation. A 2023 ESPN altcast was themed around the Disney Channel animated series Big City Greens, with players represented by avatars of characters from the series; Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers and Evgeny Kuznetsov of the Washington Capitals were represented by the series' lead characters Cricket and Tilly Green, with their respective voice actors providing live facial motion capture[36] In 2024, TruTV aired a similar production using various Warner Bros. Discovery-owned characters, in promotion for its video game MultiVersus.[37] Beyond also worked with ESPN on a Toy Story-themed broadcast in a similar style for an NFL London Game in 2023.[38]

References

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  1. ^ Feldman, Jacob (2024-05-22). "TNT Sports Launches Chat, Data Altcasts for NBA, NHL Playoffs". Sportico.com. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  2. ^ "ALL IN-CAR INDYCAR TELECAST ON ESPN2" (PDF). ESPN. 1994-07-21. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  3. ^ "ESPN To Launch "Full Circle" Package With Next UNC-Duke Game". Sports Business Journal. 2006-02-08. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  4. ^ a b Stewart, Larry (2006-09-06). "ESPN 'Full Circle' Doesn't Square With the Viewers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  5. ^ "Get ready for Amen Corner live". PGA Tour. March 30, 2006. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  6. ^ "ESPN coverage of playoff opener comes 'Full Circle'". Chicago Tribune. 2006-04-21. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  7. ^ Sandomir, Richard (March 29, 2014). "Local Voices Aren't So Eager to Go National". The New York Times. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  8. ^ Norlander, Matt (February 4, 2014). "A conversation with vice president of the NCAA tournament, Dan Gavitt". CBS Sports. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  9. ^ Ourand, John (November 18, 2013). "Choose your perspective". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  10. ^ "March Madness: CBS To Move Up National Championship Tip Time". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  11. ^ "ESPN brings the Megacast back for the College Football Playoff National Championship". Awful Announcing. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  12. ^ "Details for ESPN's Megacast of the College Football Playoff title game". Sports Illustrated. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  13. ^ "ESPN 'Megacast' to show BCS title game in 6 ways on 6 channels". SB Nation. December 19, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "2017 College Football Playoff Championship Megacast: What's on each ESPN network". SB Nation. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  15. ^ "'Inside the NBA' crew will do broadcast during All-Star Game". NBA.com. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  16. ^ Putterman, Alex (2017-08-08). "MLB Network to air Statcast-aided 'MLB Now' broadcast for Cubs-Giants game". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  17. ^ Hipes, Patrick (2018-12-06). "WGA Awards TV Nominations: 'The Handmaid's Tale', 'Barry', 'SNL' Make List". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  18. ^ "Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon's 'Cord and Tish' Upstage Rose Parade". TheWrap. 2018-01-01. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  19. ^ Petski, Denise (2017-11-22). "Will Ferrell & Molly Shannon To Host Amazon's Live Rose Parade Coverage – Sort Of". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  20. ^ "Cord and Tish Won't Return to the Announcer's Booth for the 2020 Rose Parade". PasadenaNow.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  21. ^ Rosenstein, Mike (May 25, 2022). "Giants legend Eli Manning adds new title to resume: Emmy Award winner". NJ.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Otterson, Joe (April 10, 2024). "ESPN, Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions Set Long-Term Content Deal". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  23. ^ Russo, Michael. "Paul Bissonnette, Spittin' Chiclets take on TV with altcast that aims to be NHL 'version of ManningCast'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  24. ^ Deitsch, Richard. "Barkley and Draymond: The new Manningcast?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  25. ^ Pierce, David (2023-08-24). "Amazon is bringing a whole lot of AI to Thursday Night Football this season". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  26. ^ Peters, Jay (2022-08-01). "Amazon is teaming up with Dude Perfect for alternate Thursday Night Football streams". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  27. ^ Haring, Bruce (2022-10-28). "LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Paul Rivera Bring 'Uninterrupted The Shop' to 'Thursday Night Football' In An Alternate Stream". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  28. ^ Kleinschmidt, Jessica (2023-08-27). "ESPN coverage of Little League World Series remains stamped in tradition, fun". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  29. ^ Editor, Kristian Hernández, Senior (2023-08-17). "MLB Little League Classic 2023: ESPN Taps Into Bowman Field's Intimate Setting, Increased Team Access". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2024-07-26. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  30. ^ Andrews, Cooper (15 February 2024). "SU alum Noah Eagle reflects on calling Super Bowl LVIII alongside SpongeBob, Patrick". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Slime, Spongebob steal show in Nickelodeon's broadcast of Saints-Bears". Sportsnet. January 10, 2021.
  32. ^ "The Best SpongeBob Memes And More From NFL's Nickelodeon Broadcast". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
  33. ^ Barsanti, Sam (January 10, 2021). "Adding SpongeBob SquarePants to football games makes them much more entertaining". AV Club.
  34. ^ Kerschbaumer, Ken (2024-02-01). "Super Bowl LVIII: Nickeldeon's 'Nickified' Production Kicks Off on Monday". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  35. ^ Lucia, Joe (February 9, 2024). "Your Super Bowl LVIII broadcast primer". Awful Announcing. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  36. ^ Dachman, Jason (March 14, 2023). "ESPN, Disney Take Next Tech Leap in Kids-Focused Broadcast With Live, Animated 'NHL Big City Greens Classic'". Sports Video Group. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  37. ^ Dachman, Jason (2024-04-12). "Inside the 'MultiVersus NHL Face-Off' Live Animated Broadcast With the NHL's David Lehanski and Keith Horstman". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  38. ^ Dachman, Jason (2023-09-12). "Toy Story Hits the Gridiron: ESPN, Disney, and NFL To Collaborate on Fully-Animated Alternate Broadcast of NFL Game Set in Andy's Room". Sports Video Group. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
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