Oh, corporate synergy! Disney is looking to make the most out of its Marvel and ESPN branding by combining the two. No, I don’t mean by having some NBA players pose with a bunch of Avengers stars, but by actually combining an NBA game with a Marvel storyline.
Huh?
Variety reports Disney is launching a never-before-seen telecast titled Marvel’s Arena of Heroes, which will take place on May 3rd during the Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans game. In short, it’ll be an NBA game with an Avengers storyline attached. Here’s how the report describes it:
The Disney sports-media giant on Monday, May 3, plans to air an “NBA Special Edition,” a game between the Golden State Warriors and the New Orleans Pelicans that will weave elements from an original Marvel story and characters including Iron Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Black Widow and Doctor Strange into the live action. The broadcast will use 3-D virtual characters, animation packages and customized graphics to tell the tale of the Avengers watching the match in hopes of finding new heroes to help them fight an invading alien army.
If you want to watch the game normally, you can just tune in to ESPN, but for the full superhero experience that requires flipping on ESPN 2, the streaming ESPN Plus, or ESPN Desportes. Marvel’s Angelique Roche will be joining the commentary team for superhero analysis, as well, I assume gauging Hawkeye’s jumpshot or something?
This is all pretty ridiculous, and would’ve made for a funny SNL skit if it weren’t an actual damn thing that’s happening. I imagine if it’s a hit we’ll see Disney do this sort of thing quite a lot, so watch out MLB fans!
