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For many years, Fred Gaudelli, NBC Sports’ Executive Producer of NFL, has been talking about the potential for NFL broadcasts look more like EA Sports’ Madden NFL videogames through tools like the Skycam and next-gen virtual graphics. On Saturday, Gaudelli and the NBC Sports team will go beyond the talk and start to walk with the first ever EA Sports Madden NFL Cast exclusively on Peacock.
Go all the way into every play with the #EASportsMaddenNFLCast featuring the Texans and Chiefs, LIVE December 21 at 1p ET only on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/oCGLe15px2
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 18, 2024
“We’re going to produce this alt-cast for the avid Madden game player,” says Gaudelli, who produced Sunday Night Football with John Madden in the booth for the final seven years of his storied career. “There are millions and millions of Madden fans, and I think we have to really serve them in this game and try to find that perfect blend between the videogame and the real game, and merge them together. So, the short answer is, Madden enthusiasts are our target audience.”
The first-of-its-kind live football experience blending videogame elements and live action will stream live exclusively on Peacock for the Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs game (1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21). NBC Sports Group has collaborated with EA Sports and Genius Sports to create an immersive, data-powered live football experience that “injects Madden NFL’s unique brand elements as animated overlays,” according to NBC.
The live stream will also feature a dedicated commentary team of Madden experts calling the game from a custom-designed studio at NBC Sports’ Stamford, CT, headquarters, and will be produced independently from the main broadcast with producer Steve Greenberg and director Geoff Butler calling the shots from Stamford.
How It Works: Next-Gen Stats and GeniusIQ at the Center of It All
Featuring live EA SPORTS Madden NFL 25 graphics, route trees, play cards and player ratings, the Madden NFL Cast will transform football strategy, information, and IQ for viewers.
It’s all being driven by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats platform and GeniusIQ, Genius Sports’ next generation data and AI platform that combines real-time data insights with fully branded animations to deliver an immersive viewing experience.
In preparation for Saturday’s production, Greenberg, Butler, and the rest of the talent and production team performed rehearsals on the past two NBC Sunday Night Football broadcasts (Chargers-Chiefs on Dec. 8, and Seahawks-Packers on Dec. 15). Gaudelli says that the Genius Sports team elevated its contribution to the broadcast each week by adding additional elements.
“We started out with the route trails,” he says. “Then we had the icons for the X factors and the superstar players. Then we added the buttons that you would see if you were playing the game on an Xbox. We’ve got the personnel packages for offense and defense on both sides of the screen as it is in the Madden game. So the authenticity of the Madden game has developed to a really good place right now, and I think all the Madden fans are going to sink their teeth into that and enjoy that on Saturday.”
In the Control Room: Taking a Cue From Esports
Greenberg and Butler will be calling at the front bench in Stamford spearheading the Madden NFL Cast with a dedicated production team.
“It doesn’t differ at all that much in terms of positions because even in a traditional football production, you’re going to have people accounted for in the truck or control room for things like the 1st and Ten Line,” says Greenberg. “We’ll have our own graphics operators and score bar operator, plus our own AD, director, producer, and tape people building packages that will have Madden features. We will also have some representatives from both EA and Genius there to support us. So it is a little bit of a fuller control room with some extra bodies, but it’s been awesome working with EA and Genius on this.”
Butler is a veteran of EA’s competitive gaming division, providing him with a unique perspective as the broadcast looks to meld the worlds of esports and real sports.
“One big thing is the picture-in-picture with the players on the screen,” he says. “I did a lot of FIFA and Madden [esports broadcasts] and you always see the two competitors on the screen [with POV cameras]. Since we’re targeting that Madden audience, we’re embracing that. So you’ll see Chad and Kurt on the screen almost all the time talking on the screen, which obviously isn’t part of a normal football broadcast.
“The other big thing will be having the playbook up on the screen over the Skycam shot of the huddle – just like in the [videogame],” he continues. “It may seem like a small thing, but it’s so authentic to the Madden experience.”
CLICK HERE for SVG’s full Q&A With Greenberg and Butler.
Calling the Action in the Studio: The Ultimate Hangout Spot
NBC Sports has erected a custom-designed studio for play-by-play caller Paul Burmeister, YouTuber and Madden NFL expert Kurt Benkert, former Pro Bowl wide receiver and “ratings adjuster” Chad Ochocinco, and Ultimate Madden Bowl Championship-winning player Henry Leverette.
The set, which is located inside Studio 1 in Stamford, has been outfitted with a massive Sony LED display showing various angles of the game, the Madden playbook from the videogame, and other live video feeds. The goal is to create a casual atmosphere similar to friends hanging out playing Madden, so announcers will be sitting in lounge chairs watching the screen. The studio is outfitted with a Jib, a SteadiCam, two hard cameras, and two PTZs.
“It’s cozier and more of a relaxed set than being in a booth,” says Benkert. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how visually it shows up on screen for people at home.”
Benkert will utilize graphic overlays to discuss and predict play options, while Ochocinco — who frequently discussed his own Madden rating in production meetings with John Madden — serves as a real-time player “ratings adjuster.” Meanwhile, Leverette will dive deeper into the action as only a Madden pro can, primarily thoroughly replay analysis.
Burmeister, who typically calls Big Ten football for NBC Sports, admits the experience will be dramatically different from a traditional booth. While he will have some of the standard tools — a program monitor, stats monitor, stats person, a spotter by his side — Benkert, Ochocino, and Leverette won’t be right next to him.
“It’s quite a bit different,” he says. “I’m off to the corner by myself and… Chad and Kurt and Henry will be in front of me, to the right. We’ll have the giant projector screen in front of me to the left. So, I’ll be keeping an eye on my analysts and the screen in a different way than I would during ‘a normal broadcast’.”
Gaudelli adds that the cadence of the announcers has been drastically different in rehearsals compared to a traditional broadcast where the play-by-play announcer is the dominant voice. Instead of Burmeister setting the scene before each play, Benkert and Ochocinco more often are offering up predictions and observations on the formations and personnel prior to the snap.
“The cadence… has evolved where Kurt and Chad are really taking the lead,” he says. “Paul is making sure that all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed, and really quizzing them about the game but [also] how it would manifest itself in the video game.”
Benkert also believes the visual aids provided by the Madden videogame overlays create a wholly different dynamic for analyzing plays.
“Now that we’ve added in the X factors and the trails and the superstars and the buttons over people’s heads, it’s really easy to speak over the top of it in reference to what we’re seeing with our eyes,” he says. “[As opposed to] a normal broadcast where a nickel defender is blitzing and a lot of people at home don’t know what a nickel defender is if they’re not avid football fans. On this [broadcast though] I can say see the X factor right there, he’s coming off the edge. In my opinion it brings it more to the level of people watching it from home versus sometimes people get spoken over the top of with terminology and all that.”
