The Disney-themed Christmas Day program continued the 2024 sports production trend of building immersive viewing events to enhance fan engagement and attract new audiences.
Sony’s Beyond Sports teamed with ESPN, Disney, and the NBA for Dunk the Halls, the first-ever real-time, animated alternate presentation of an NBA game. The program used data processing and real-time visualization technology from Beyond Sports, as well as optical tracking technology from Hawk-Eye Innovations, to insert iconic Disney characters into the game action using 3D animation. The special Christmas Day altcast of the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs game aired on ESPN2, ESPN+, and Disney+.
Dunk the Halls involved animated versions of every play from the real-life Spurs vs. Knicks game, with iconic Disney characters including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. Fans also saw them participating in a halftime slam dunk contest; delivering pregame and halftime speeches; and decorating a large Christmas tree during the game. Elves operated cameras, with Santa Claus operating ESPN's “SkyCam.”
Dunk the Halls is the third major sports telecast in 2024 to use Sony's Beyond Sports’ real-time visualization engine, including the NHL Big City Greens Classic 2 on March 9 and the NFL The Simpsons Funday Football on December 9.
“Real-time visualization and virtual alternate productions have clearly emerged from being a novelty into an established tentpole of broadcast and streaming programming,” said Sander J. Schouten, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Beyond Sports. “Every time, we're ready to deliver an innovative, immersive, and interactive altcast that puts viewers right in the heart of the action. This isn't just the future of sports consumption—it's the trend reshaping the industry today. With our latest telecast, fans can expect all of that, plus an added touch of Christmas magic.”
Beyond Sports developed a unique data processing engine to optimize basketball optical tracking data from Sony's Hawk-Eye Innovations. By validating and enriching the data with advanced enhancement technology, the process ensures a heightened level of realism and fluidity, making the content not only more visually compelling but also more engaging and immersive.
“Adapting our data enhancement system to these new sports formats was essential,” said Nicolaas Westerhof, CTO and Co-Founder at Beyond Sports. “For example, the original ankle and toe data points can result in unnatural movements. By adding details like foot roll dynamics, we ensure smoother, more realistic visuals, significantly improving the viewer's experience.”
In addition to visual elements and creative features like gingerbread referees, Beyond Sports’ virtual commentator technology inserted the ESPN announcers into the animated production using a virtual reality headset.
Source: Sony Corporation
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
