ESPN has long broadcasted homers. Now it’s broadcasting Homer.

For years, The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) unit has experimented with multiple broadcasts of the same sporting event, beginning with a 1994 IndyCar race when ESPN carried the traditional production and the recently launched ESPN2 “presented an all in-car feed with mostly natural sound and little commentary.”

In January 2014, ESPN had its first “MegaCast” for college football’s BCS Championship Game: Six television platforms, as well as audio and digital outlets, provided different presentations for the Florida State-Auburn game. Fans of both teams could hear their local radio broadcasts—which often can come from a “homer” perspective—and the “MegaCast” debuted to rave reviews from media critics and fans.

‘The Simpsons Funday Football’

In late October, Disney announced its latest alternate viewing production, which it dubbed “The Simpsons Funday Football.”

On Dec. 9, ESPN will televise its regular “Monday Night Football” matchup, with the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Dallas Cowboys. Meanwhile, an animated version of the game will be “transformed in real-time into the iconic Simpsons world using Sony’s Beyond Sports Technology.” The animated game will stream on Disney+ and ESPN+, as well as on mobile devices on NFL+.

“Each Bengals and Cowboys player will appear as a motion-enabled, animated player for the special primetime matchup,” Disney said. “Through state-of-the-art tracking technology enabled by NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Sony’s Beyond Sports, combined with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations’ optical tracking, fans enjoying The Simpsons Funday Football will see every snap, run, pass, score, and more from the real-life Bengals and Cowboys matchup at AT&T Stadium as it happens.”

ESPN Unable to ‘Flex’ Monday’s Game

Unfortunately for ESPN, it is stuck with the matchup between the 4-8 Bengals and 5-7 Cowboys, and is unable to “flex” to a more desirable game. So-called flex scheduling, introduced in 2006, allows the NFL to move games from their original times to give viewers more exciting matchups.

“For those asking, the Bengals-Cowboys MNF game is not eligible to be flexed out because of all the drawings, voiceovers and other work that has been done for The Simpsons alt-cast that will air that night,” SI.com Bengals beat reporter Jay Morrison wrote in an X post on Nov. 19.

Football continues to be a powerful television draw. Of the 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2023, 93 were NFL games, according to Nielsen data.