When the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars took the field Sunday morning in London, the locale was not the only unique aspect of their showdown. ESPN also debuted a Toy Story-themed NFL broadcast for the contest that it called “Toy Story Funday Football.”
Fans had a mixed reaction to the unique streaming option that provided an alternative to the traditional broadcast on ESPN+.
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Fans React to Toy Story Broadcast
The broadcast was an attempt to engage with more younger viewers, including teaching them how to throw a perfect spiral and make a tackle safely. It used motion capture technology with chips in players’ shoulder pads to track their movement and present it in a cartoon-like way.
Some fans found joy in the unique, imperfect broadcast option.
The Toy Story broadcast is so bad that it's good.
— Justin Carter (@juscarts) October 1, 2023
Others described its innovative approach as a “nightmare.”
this Toy Story football broadcast seems
to be using incredibly innovative and sophisticated technology to create a freakish niche nightmare everyone hates— David Sims (@davidlsims) October 1, 2023
The broadcast’s mix of serious commentary with cartoony themes presented quite the contrast.
i'm dying at the Disney + Toy Story NFL broadcast, where the announcers are just doing sincere, adult-focused play-by-play and analysis but every once in a while they have to go "and oh no, Zurg is here!"
— Pat Reber (@patreberyeah) October 1, 2023
The broadcast also provided a new perspective for highlight plays.
All in all, ESPN ended up with a flawed yet fun alternative broadcast that could pave the way for coverage of future sporting events.