NICKELODEON AND CBS SPORTS TEAM UP WITH NFL
FOR THE 2021-2022 SEASON
Slime-Filled Telecast of NFL Wild Card Game to Return to Nickelodeon,
Sunday, Jan. 16, Alongside CBS Sports’ Coverage on The CBS Television Network
All-New NFL Weekly Series NFL Slimetime, Hosted by CBS Sports Analyst and Former NFL Star Nate Burleson and Nick Star Young Dylan, and Featuring Dylan Schefter
as Correspondent, to Premiere Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon
Share it: @NFL @Nickelodeon @CBSSports
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Sept. 10, 2021—Nickelodeon and CBS Sports are partnering with the National Football League (NFL) to bring slimetime to primetime for the 2021-2022 football season with brand-new content specially created for kids and families, including another slime-filled presentation of an NFL Wild Card game that will air on Nickelodeon on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 4:30 p.m. (ET) alongside CBS Sports’ coverage of the game on The CBS Television Network and NFL Slimetime, an all-new NFL half-hour weekly series on Nickelodeon, premiering Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).
We're defending our title as the slimiest playoff game ever with the return of the @Nickelodeon Wild Card game.
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) September 10, 2021
Details on the January 16 telecast here: https://t.co/1E0QVM2Lfe pic.twitter.com/HHGJTxdeQt
Hosted by CBS Sports’ analyst and former NFL star Nate Burleson and Nick star Young Dylan (Dylan Gilmer, Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan), with teen sports correspondent Dylan Schefter and Lincoln Loud (The Loud House), NFL Slimetime (23 episodes) will be a fun-filled weekly NFL experience for kids and families to enjoy. The series will include: Nick-ified highlights and game footage; youth football spotlights; special guest appearances by Nick stars; interviews with NFL players; and entertaining segments highlighting players and teams on and off the field. Following its premiere in Week 2 on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), NFL Slimetime will air weekly Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), with episodes available to stream on Paramount+ the following day, through Feb. 16, the week of Super Bowl. NFL Slimetime is executive produced by Ashley Kaplan, Luke Wahl, Paul J Medford and Jana Blumenthal. CBS Sports’ Shawn Robbins serves as executive producer and showrunner. Production for Nickelodeon is overseen by Ashley Kaplan, Senior Vice President, Digital Studios.
Said Brian Robbins, President & Chief Executive Officer of Nickelodeon, and Chief Content Officer of Kids & Family for Paramount+: “Our coverage of the NFL Wild Card game was literally a game-changer in so many ways, and the sensational response absolutely proved there’s huge demand for sports content with the kind of kids and family point of view that only Nickelodeon can deliver. In this next stage of our tremendous partnership with the NFL and CBS Sports, we’re going to raise the bar again and help innovate sports programming to bring the whole family together for one-of-a-kind viewing experiences.”
Said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports: “Together with Nickelodeon, CBS Sports is cultivating the next generation of NFL fans. Our inaugural NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon was an outstanding display of the power and the ability of ViacomCBS to continue to reach broader and younger audiences. We are thrilled to team up with the NFL and Nickelodeon this season, offering kids and families a full season of unique and unparalleled NFL content, including our second edition of the NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon."
Said Shawn Robbins, Executive Producer and Showrunner of NFL Slimetime: "I am excited to build on the success of last season’s NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon with NFL Slimetime and another Wild Card presentation. From Nick-ified highlights, expert advice, kid-focused fun and special guest appearances, NFL Slimetime will wow kids and families as only Nickelodeon can on a weekly basis.”
Said Hans Schroeder, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NFL Media: “We are excited to continue our partnership with CBS Sports and Nickelodeon to present our game and content to young NFL fans and their families. Nickelodeon’s unique presentation of last year’s Wild Card Game was a success, and we look forward to another playoff broadcast this year and a new weekly show for families to enjoy.”
Said Amanda Herald, Vice President of NFL Marketing Strategy and Insights: “In extending and broadening this partnership, we wanted to deliver content that enables families to share their NFL fandom across generations – a key to growing our future fanbase. Collaboration across Nickelodeon, CBS Sports and NFL Media will allow us to deliver authentic and fun NFL coverage all season long.”
Following the success of last year’s Sports Emmy Award-winning NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon are teaming up again for a special presentation of an NFL Wild Card game on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 4:30 p.m. (ET), with one-of-a-kind content, guest reporters, original on-field graphics, virtual filters and more—all tailored for family viewing fun. The NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon will air alongside CBS Sports’ coverage of the game, which will be available on The CBS Television Network and streamed digitally across devices via Paramount+, CBS Sports and NFL digital properties, and on mobile via Yahoo Sports and the participating teams’ mobile properties.
Last season’s The NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon (Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021)--the first-ever NFL telecast produced for kids and families--was Nick’s most-watched program among total viewers in nearly four years and the number-one cable telecast of the week with Kids 2-11 and Kids 6-11. Airing alongside CBS Sports’ broadcast on The CBS Television Network, the program generated more than two billion social media impressions and Nickelodeon was the number-one trending topic in the U.S. on Twitter during that afternoon. The NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon was the recipient of two Sports Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Playoff Coverage and Outstanding Live Graphic Design.
Nickelodeon, now in its 42nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The brand includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, digital, location based experiences, publishing and feature films. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC).
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From Sports Video Group:
Building On Recent Success: Nickelodeon Simulcast Headlines Late-Season Efforts
Although 2020 had its fair share of obstacles, there were success stories over the course of the season. The most notable was the simulcast presentation of the New Orleans Saints vs. Chicago Bears on Nickelodeon during Wild Card weekend. The special broadcast attracted a new generation of NFL fans with AR-powered slime overlays and show-specific graphics like SpongeBob Squarepants. Because of the positive buzz generated by the game — more than 2 million viewers watched the simulcast — additional Nickelodeon-based content was pushed to social media before Super Bowl LV. Give this success, CBS Sports is committing to another edition during the late Wild Card window.
“Nickelodeon has been having very productive talks with the NFL about potentially doing more programming,” says McManus. “It’s a demographic that the league wants to reach, and they saw how incredibly effective Nickelodeon is with reaching that audience.”
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From Multichannel News:
Nickelodeon Kicks Off 'NFL Slimetime' Series
Series exec producer Shawn Robbins says weekly series extends teaming of NFL and kids-targeted network
Nickelodeon Wednesday night (Sept. 15) will look to endear young viewers to the sport of football with its new original primetime series NFL Slimetime.
The weekly series, a collaboration between Nickelodeon, the NFL and CBS Sports, looks to build on Nick’s successful, network-branded telecast of last January's Chicago Bears-New Orleans Saints NFL Wildcard playoff game by offering league highlights and player interviews delivered from a Nickelodeon perspective. The series is hosted by former NFL player, The NFL Today analyst and CBS Mornings co-host Nate Burleson and Dylan Gilmer, star of the network series Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan series, and also includes sports correspondent Dylan Schefter.
I had a chance to speak to NFL Slimetime executive producer and showrunner Shawn Robbins shortly after he finished filming the series' first episode to discuss expectations for the 23-episode series as well as the collaboration between the league and the kids-targeted brand. An edited version of the interview appears below.
Picture This: What is Nickelodeon looking to accomplish with NFL Slimetime?
Shawn Robbins: The show is really an extension of what we did with the Wild Card game — it extends the partnership with the NFL and it brings sports to Nickelodeon. We know that we were able to really merge the NFL and CBS Sports with Nickelodeon, and obviously nobody reaches a youthful audience better than Nickelodeon.
PT: Was the Wild Card game and now NFL Slimetime an effort to provide kids with a greater understanding of football, or was it an opportunity to provide sports programming for Nickelodeon’s lineup?
SR: Both of those things. I think the game of football is great in itself, but if you want to reach kids, Nickelodeon has this fantastic [intellectual property] that touches kids of all ages. There’s also a nostalgic value to the Nickelodeon brand that also touches adults, so we know that there’s a crossover opportunity where we can reach both kids and their parents. Mom and Dad may watch the live football games on Sunday, and now we’re giving them a product where they can introduce their kids to the game using the Nickelodeon brand. It’s just really special.
PT: What should viewers expect to see on the show?
SR: What’s great is we have a lot of fun with the show. Much like the wildcard game we want to keep the values and tradition of the game and be respectful to the game of football, but we had fun with it. The show will feature action from the games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday mixed with what the Nickelodeon brand represents. We asked the players fun, Nickelodeon-style questions and they had a great time with it. The players aren’t that far off [age-wise] from the Nickelodeon target audience, so it’s been really special to see that come together.
PT: What kind of questions did you ask the players?
SR: Questions like, ‘is having good breath important coming into the huddle, or what might have been the worst thing that you’ve eaten before the game?’ The players really responded fantastically to that. Also Dylan Schefter did an interview yesterday with [wide receiver] Christian Kirk from the Arizona Cardinals who scored two touchdowns in Sunday’s game. They had such a fun interview about the game. I’ve done a lot of these interviews before with all of our big guys at CBS Sports over the years, and it’s such a different experience to see how players talk to kids. The players get it, and I loved how they interacted with Dylan. I’m looking forward to doing a lot more of that throughout the season.
PT: Does the show get into the X's and O’s of the sport?
SR: We do a little bit. You’ll see during the show that Nate Burleson does break down a play, so we will get into some X’s and O’s from a broader base standpoint. We want to bring kids into the game and that’s how we’ll do it … there’s definitely some teaching involved.
Also Read: For CBS Sports's Sean McManus, a Whole Different Ballgame
PT: Do you expect you’ll have to make adjustments to the show as the NFL season progresses?
SR: Oh my goodness, I hope so. We’re going to build on it. This was our first show and we put the team together pretty quickly to get this out. Like any show, you look at the last episode and see what you did and how we can make it better.
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From BCK Online:
GEORGE JOHNSTON IV APPEARS ON NICKELODEON’S NEW “NFL SLIMETIME”
Nickelodeon has done it again. They have creatively found a new way to include slime in their programming. The latest addition to the family, NFL SlimeTime converts the end zones into “slime zones” as hosts and kids sports correspondents re-watch NFL highlights like no other program out there! One correspondent who is proving that he definitely has the right stuff is George Johnston IV as he appears on Nickelodeon‘s NFL Slimetime.
This amazing fourth grader doesn’t just only know football. He is also a true history buff and loves talking all about strategy and historical context when it comes to football. George definitely has the knowledge to analyze game play and specific players and positions from a historical context. George cannot contain his excitement in the videos as he is combining both of his passions.
Want to know more about George? Well, BCKOnline had the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with this budding young talent. Take a look below at his exclusive interview!
BCKOnline: How did your interest in football start?
George Johnston IV: I watched Super Bowl LIII (53) and I am a history junkie so I saw the Patriots name and said, “hey that has to do with the Revolutionary War” and then I started researching them and how they did in the NFL, and it just expanded to the entire league and I just couldn’t stop.
BCKOnline: What is your role on NFL Slimetime?
George Johnston IV: I do a lot of research and can dig a deep perspective about the week’s latest news and just bring a lot of enthusiasm along with that.
BCKOnline: How was it like working with Nate Burleson?
George Johnston IV: He is a fun guy, he’s got a lot of experience in the league, especially since he played in it. He’s had so many jobs that he can just work with anybody. And he’s just a great fit on the Slimetime team.
BCKOnline: Do you have a favorite football team and player?
George Johnston IV: In the NFC, I always go for the Washington Football Team. In the AFC, I go for the Baltimore Ravens, but the Patriots are always responsible for my love of football so every now and then, I’ll watch their games and cheer on “Go PATRIOTS!” My favorite Player is the GOAT Tom Brady—I love his story line, and since Super Bowl LIII (53) I have not stopped watching him.
BCKOnline: What do you like to do for fun?
George Johnston IV: I like to read, I like to research football, I like to play football, and I like to play video games especially Madden and NBA 2K.
BCKOnline: What do you want to be when you grow up? Do you see yourself as a future football analyst?
George Johnston IV: First, I want to play as a football player, especially for the Patriots like my cousin Julius Adams did. Then, I want to be a football analyst for one of the big networks like CBS, NBC, Fox, or ESPN, and then, hopefully I’ll run for president… Go G4!!!
BCKOnline: Do you have anything else you would like to tell our readers?
George Johnston IV: I am going to be pumping out more videos on my YouTube Channel G4 Sports Talk, go check that out, and maybe even some more future work with Nickelodeon!
Nickelodeon’s NFL Slimetime is a half-hour weekly series he show is hosted by CBS Sports’ analyst and former NFL star Nate Burleson and Nickelodeon star Young Dylan, with teen sports correspondent Dylan Schefter and Lincoln Loud. NFL Slimetime will feature 23 fun-filled weekly episodes where kids and families will have the opportunity to enjoy together the NFL experience. NFL Slimetime airs on Wednesday’s at 7 p.m. (ET/PT).
Episodes will be available to stream on Paramount+ the following day, through Feb. 16, the week of Super Bowl.
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Originally published: September 10, 2021 at 17:44 BST.
