The famed Madden video game franchise, one of the top-selling sports video games of all time, is about to enter a new frontier: It is becoming an alt-cast.
NBC Sports and Peacock, as announced at halftime of Thursday’s game between the Miami Dolphins and the Green Bay Packers, will collaborate with the NFL, EA Sports and Genius Sports to present “EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast” for the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs game on Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET. The Madden NFL Cast will exclusively stream on Peacock while the game airs on both NBC and Peacock.
The Madden alt-cast will blend video game elements and live action and inject Madden NFL’s brand elements as animated overlays, per NBC Sports. The alt-cast will include Madden NFL 25 graphics, route trees, play cards and player ratings.
There will be a dedicated commentary team for the alt-cast: Paul Burmeister will be the play-by-play announcer and former NFL quarterback and YouTuber Kurt Benkert will utilize graphic overlays to discuss and predict play options. Six-time Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Chad Ochocinco will serve as a real-time player “ratings adjuster.”
Henry Leverette, who won the Ultimate Madden Bowl championship ring in February and is the first player in Madden NFL Championship Series history to reach $1 million in career earnings, will also be part of the broadcast. The Madden NFL Cast will be produced by Steve Greenberg and directed by Geoff Butler.
“This first-ever Madden NFL Cast marks a new milestone as Peacock’s first sports alt-cast,” Fred Gaudelli, NBC Sports’ executive producer of NFL, said in a statement. “It has long been a point of pride for John and the Madden family that their video game has helped generations of fans and gamers learn and enjoy football, and we are thrilled to continue that tradition.”
One important note: NBC Sports said execution of the Madden NFL Cast is weather-dependent given the visibility required. For example, if there is heavy snow on the field in Kansas City that day, there’s a chance the overlays/route trees/graphics won’t show up on the white field.
There are 11 players on the Texans and Chiefs rosters who have a Madden rating above 90, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, who were two of only six players to begin this NFL season in the “Madden 99 Club” with 99 overall ratings. Houston tackle Laremy Tunsil (95 rating) and running back Joe Mixon (93) are the top Texans in Madden ratings.
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(Photo of Patrick Mahomes: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
