The NFL Airing a Game on Nickelodeon is Genius

As the NFL embraces the magical question of “which laughably bad team from the NFC East will make the playoffs”, we finally have answers to one mystery surrounding this year’s postseason. ViacomCBS finally unveiled its plans for its NFL playoff game that will simulcasted on Nickelodeon, in a last-minute attempt to squander advertising dollars for the future as they are competing to keep its rights to the country’s most popular sports league.

The game seems wild and brilliant. It will feature digital slime explosions in the end zone, animated effects on players faces and lots of SpongeBob as expected. The goal of this is not only to convince the NFL that ViacomCBS is one of the best options because of its ability to gain the eyeballs of a diverse audience, but to also get the next generation of fans interested in the sport. It’s a win-win for ViacomCBS and in a world where children are less interested in sports than ever and attention spans are getting shorter, what better way is there to capture this audience? ViacomCBS has the luxury of having brands that children hold onto forever across generations. It’s an incredible flex to show that they can seamlessly combine two of their larger media brands to create a viable experience to attract a large audience. They can promote the game often on its content designed for television and YouTube often to create a large amount of hype.

Now parents everywhere must be relieved as they can achieve the goal of getting their children into football without buying them the latest Madden game or most likely forcing them to sit as they yell at their TV on a Sunday. Not only will they be able to attract children to this event, they will also be able to get non-football fans intrigued as the goal would be to make this a nationally talked about event like the Super Bowl or an awards show, that those on social media will feel like they’re missing out on the party if they’re not watching.

The television industry is struggling and companies like ViacomCBS need to get creative to stave off the likes of Amazon and Google competing for NFL rights. This out-of-the-box approach is exactly what ViacomCBS needs to prevail for the future. Sometimes going with what you already have is the best secret to success. Also you can’t exactly lose when you have slime and Spongebob on your hands either.