Nickelodeon Announces Broadcast Teams For Nickmas And Super Bowl Telecasts

It’s a two-Turtle call this Christmas, and a very SpongeBob Super Bowl

It’s being called the “collab of a lifeslime”. Not only does Nickelodeon have another Nickmas NFL game coming on Christmas Day, but they’ve also got the first Super Bowl alternate telecast since the phenomena began. On Tuesday, Nickelodeon and CBS Sports spilled all the details, and they’re going all in on animated partners following last year’s efforts with Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star.

The Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game will be between the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium at 1 PM Eastern. Yeah, it’s a special Monday afternoon game. That’s weird. Noah Eagle is back for the play-by-play with analyst and NFL Slimetime host Nate Burleson also returning. Unfortunately, it seems that actress Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, who has been a regular presence on the network through her time as a season 11 All That member, a frequent Unfiltered panelist, and was by Nick’s second Wild Card game broadcast a co-lead on That Girl Lay Lay, has not been indicated to return. What this means for the future of Lay Lay could very well be bleak.

Instead, there's going to be more augmented reality animated characters. Instead of having a separate setup as Patrick did, Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem will reportedly join them in the booth, and be performed by his voice actor from the film, Brady Noon. They might start promoting Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the franchise’s next animated series here as it is set to premiere in the new year on Paramount+. In addition, Raph’s brother Donatello, voiced by Micah Abbey, will serve as the penalty explainer, a role previously held by Iain Armitage as Sheldon Cooper from Young Sheldon and former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski. Dylan Schefter, daughter of ESPN’s Adam Schefter will be the sideline reporter. It wouldn't be a Nick broadcast without the visual flair, graphic enhancements, original on-field graphics, and virtual filters. The press release promises everything from upgraded slime cannons, snowballs, pizzas, presents, and live AR festive decorations lining the stadium, to a new Nickelodeon blimp, and in-game appearances from animated Santa Claus and Yeti and Snowball characters. Rock, Paper, Scissors will follow in the footsteps of Kamp Koral, Big Nate, and Rubble & Crew and receive the special preview treatment at halftime.

As for Super Bowl LVIII, that’s happening February 11, 2024, coincidentally at the Raiders’ home stadium, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. But for Nickelodeon viewers, it's happening down down down in Bikini Bottom, with SpongeBob and Patrick in the booth, of course voiced by Tom Kenny and the returning Bill Fagerbakke. Sandy Cheeks, voiced by Carolyn Lawrence, will be the sideline reporter, while even Larry the Lobster, voiced by Mr. Lawrence, gets in on the action with his own live commentary. An interesting choice over Plankton (also voiced by Mr. Lawrence) but maybe it’s the workout enthusiast/athleticism angle they’re going with. Schefter and Dylan Gilmer aka Young Dylan, who had been sideline reporter since replacing Green’s All That and Unfiltered costar Lex Lumpkin in 2022, will be doing live reports. The penalty explainers for this game? Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey, in their current reboot iterations voiced by Diana Zermeño and Asher Colton Spence, in anticipation of the official premiere that could be within a few months of the event. More details about the broadcast will come later.

It is clear that Nickelodeon has continually stepped up their NFL broadcasts, so it’s sure to be fun. However neither of their broadcasts of the games will be streaming, just the main CBS telecasts.

Sources: Press release via NickAlive, Variety