NEW YORK—Paramount Global and The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) have announced a partnership that ensures hundreds of hours of Nickelodeon's hit animated and live-action series will be accessible to families with young viewers and students with disabilities. 

The multi-year agreement commences with several Nickelodeon series, including “Bossy Bear”, “Tiny Chef Show”, “Blues Clues & You!” and “Santiago of the Seas” and will include distribution via DCMP's free streaming services for families and schools. Additional Nickelodeon series will be made available on DCMP's services on a rolling basis through 2029.

DCMP is providing audio description through a Television Access grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the grant is to improve results for children with disabilities through support for the addition of audio description to widely available programs with educational value.

The Nickelodeon series will air and stream with captions and audio description. Audio description is a secondary audio track with additional narration that provides access to key visual elements of a video for persons who are blind, without interfering with the audio or dialogue.

"This opportunity enables Paramount Global to expand the reach and accessibility of our content to the DCMP audience, which includes young viewers and their families, through added audio description on Nickelodeon. The impact and nature of this partnership is something that the DCMP and our Paramount team are proud of," said Mark Turits, vice-president of captioning and audio description, Paramount Global Access Services.

"We are proud to be partnering with Paramount Global to make important programming accessible for children who are blind and visually impaired," said DCMP CTO Kyle Sisk. "Not only will more high-quality television content be accessible to the public, but teachers and families will benefit from DCMP's targeted distribution to schools."

CBS Sports has released the technical details behind its 22nd broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday Feb. 11, introducing several new production elements—including new camera angles and configurations along with cutting-edge graphic enhancements—to deliver what the network calls “an incomparable multiplatform viewer experience.”

The game will mark the first time that CBS Sports will present the Super Bowl in 1080p High Dynamic Range (HDR) and 4K HDR. While Fox and NBC were the first networks to offer 4K and HDR feeds in 2020 and 2023 of the Super Bowl, those feeds were upscaled from 1080p HDR. The last time CBS broadcast the big game was during the pandemic in 2021 which presented its own unique set of challenges. 

CBS will deploy 165 cameras across the network’s entire  presentation of the game on the CBS Television Network, Paramount+ and on mobile with NFL+, along with the Nick-ified telecast exclusively on Nickelodeon, as well as pregame, halftime and postgame coverage on THE NFL TODAY originating live from the Las Vegas Strip and Allegiant Stadium.

In all, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports HQ—Paramount's free, 24/7 streaming sports news network—will provide more than 115 combined hours of Super Bowl LVIII coverage throughout the week prior to the game, with shows primarily originating from CBS’ central broadcast location at Bellagio, beginning Monday, Feb. 5 at 6:00 AM, ET. CBS Sports Network will have extensive coverage with more than 75 hours of programming from Las Vegas throughout Super Bowl week, including studio programming and radio show simulcasts. The CBS broadcast will be available to stream via Paramount+.

For the kids, Nickeodeon will provide "slime" based coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. (ET). with "Super Bowl LVIII Live from Bikini Bottom," featuring enhanced graphics and advanced augmented reality, "bringing the historic Slime-filled telecast to SpongeBob SquarePants’ undersea home," the network said. This this marks the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl will be broadcast in two different formats, according to CBS Sports.

Among the technical highlights this year is an increased emphasis on 4K zooms, with 48 cameras with super slow-motion capability—Half of which are 24 4K zoom extraction cameras—a record number for a Super Bowl, according to CBS. Those cameras will showcase a range of angles inside Allegiant Stadium, including from the ceiling, along the goal lines and embedded inside the endzone pylons. 

New this year are so-called small “Doink Cameras,” inserted into upright cutouts, with six 4K cameras capturing “unprecedented” angles of field goals and extra points, the network said. Cameras will have high resolution zoom capability and also be made available for super slow-motion replays.

With Las Vegas hosting the Super Bowl for the first time, CBS Sports will take advantage of its unique skyline, which now includes the world famous Sphere. Three sky cams, two fly cams (including a “trolley cam”) and three drones will be utilized between the stadium and areas of the Strip, including the Sphere. Twenty-four live robotic cameras also will be mounted inside the stadium and as well as throughout the city to showcase high altitude vantage points of Las Vegas.

CBS Sports will also deploy 23 augmented reality cameras—11 on the CBS broadcast, eight on Nickelodeon and four at the set on the Strip. A collection of AR graphic enhancements will be integrated into coverage, including graphics over the Bellagio fountains utilizing a drone and fly cam, as well as virtual AR studio showcasing Las Vegas Boulevard.

For VR fans, specialty graphics implemented during Super Bowl coverage will transport players to Las Vegas Boulevard, while a VR experience will transport viewers to the set on the Strip.

The network will also use a real-time 3D Animation Graphics Packager based on Unreal Engine—an immersive real-time 3D animation graphic tool—for its studio and game coverage. 

Other enhancements include: 

• Shallow Depth-of-Field Cameras – 5 shallow depth-of-field cameras will showcase players up close on the field with a cinematic feel.
• “Red Cat” POV Cameras – A creative POV tool utilizing aftereffects and accelerated live post-processing by stabilizing, focusing and time re-mapping to present replays in a dynamic way.
• Techno Movie Bird Crane – A 53-foot movie bird crane traditionally used for major motion pictures will be located on the upper concourse, offering dramatic sweeping views of the stadium.
• Falcon 360 Camera – An immersive camera showcasing vivid panoramic views of the venue.
• Wireless RF Cameras – 12 wireless remote frequency cameras, including two “line to gain” vantage points.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—Nickelodeon is going to the Super Bowl. After working with CBS Sports earlier this NFL postseason on a kid-centric broadcast, Nickelodeon is once again attempting to draw younger viewers with a pregame show and customized highlights of Super Bowl LV.

Nickelodeon and CBS Sports are partnering on the “Nickelodeon Super Duper Super Bowl Pregame Spectacular.” The half-hour program will be hosted by Nick stars Gabrielle Nevaeh Green and Lex Lumpkin, and will feature Super Bowl fun facts, “Nick-ified” season highlights and game predictions from special guests. The special will air on Nickelodeon on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and re-air multiple times over the weekend.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7, the CBS pregame show will also feature a specially produced segment of Nickelodeon’s game show “Unfiltered.” In addition, customized Nick-ified highlights will air as part of CBS’ halftime coverage of Super Bowl LV.

Second screen content from Nickelodeon will also be available while fans watch the game on CBS. Social media accounts @Nickelodeon, @NFLonCBS and @CBSSports and NFL handles will feature Nickelodeon football highlights before and during the game. Interactive content, including polls, trivia and games, will be available at NFLNickPlay.com. 

All of this comes after overwhelmingly positive responses from the Nickelodeon secondary broadcast of the NFL Wild Game between the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears. CBS Sports said that broadcast gave Nickelodeon its biggest audience in nearly four years.

“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with Nickelodeon and build off the success and overwhelming positive response from the production of the NFL Wild Card Game on Nickelodeon,” said Sean McManus, chairman, CBS Sports. “The 'Nick-ified' elements in our pregame and halftime programming, along with the second screen digital and social highlights, will be the perfect complement to CBS Sports' first-class broadcast of Super Bowl LV, allowing us to reach an even wider audience on Super Bowl Sunday across a variety of platforms as we continue to showcase the power of the ViacomCBS family."

Super Bowl LV takes place on Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the Kansas City Chiefs playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—When CBS’ coverage of the NFL playoffs kicks off, it will include a special broadcast designed for kids to enjoy the game in a whole new way.

CBS Sports and Nickelodeon are partnering on this unique broadcast that will air on Nickelodeon simultaneously with the CBS Sports traditional broadcast. The Nickelodeon broadcast will feature kid-focused content, Nick-themed elements, guest reporters, original on-field graphics and a special halftime presentation.

Noah Eagle, CBS Sports analyst Nate Burleson and Nick star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green will call the game from the booth, with Lex Lumpkin, another Nickelodeon star, serving as a reporter during the game.

“This is a first of its kind presentation for the NFL together with Nickelodeon, and we are excited to create a unique telecast that will maximize the co-viewing appeal for kids and families, while maintaining the integrity of the game and its traditions,” said Sean McManus, chairman, CBS Sports.

Brian Robbins, president of ViacomCBS Kids & Family Entertainment says the Nickelodeon broadcast of the game will infuse Nick’s “sensibility of surprise and fun at almost every turn.”

Here’s a preview of what the broadcast will look like:

In addition to the game broadcast, Nickelodeon will air the “The SpongeBob SportsPants Countdown Special” before the game, hosted by Denver Broncos’ Von Miller and featuring appearances from CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Eagle, Burleson and Green. The special halftime presentation will be a preview of Nickelodeon’s upcoming services “Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years.”

The NFL Wild Card Game will air on Nickelodeon, with streaming only available on mobile for free via the NFL app. NFLNickPlay.com will be the online destination for the Wild Card Game on Nick, providing content to entertain and educate kids about football.

While NFL games are still among the biggest draws for live TV, the league and networks that carry the games need to address the growing trend of younger generations using other avenues to watch content, including live sports.

The NFL Wild Card Game on CBS and Nickelodeon will be on Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

SUBIACO, Australia—Nickelodeon is getting into the esports arena, with online esports and casual gaming tournament platform Emerge Gaming announcing it is developing a competitive gaming esports platform for Viacom that will be based on Nickelodeon content.

The platform, NickX, will be accessible for free on the Nickelodeon website and both its Android and iOS apps, with unique mobile games content on all devices. While available for free, premium subscriptions and in-app subscriptions will be available, as well as advertising for outside companies.

The platform will be based on Emerge Gaming’s ArcadeX technology.

There are no details on a launch date as of yet.