We’re calling it now: The MVP of 2024 will be sports licensing.

Earlier this year, in its “Off-Track Report: Future Forecast Global 2024,” The Insights Family predicted that sports IPs would “raise the competitive stakes” this year. The report indicates that because sports are now more globally available — more channels and streaming services are dedicated to worldwide broadcasts than ever before — the popularity of sports fandom is rising, and with it, the community built among those fans.

This community provides the perfect market for licensing initiatives: Sports enthusiasts of all ages look to their teams for inspiration, aspiration, and a sense that they belong to something. These connections build an extremely passionate foundation on which to build a licensing program — your audience is enthusiastic, and hopefully, willing to invest.

This is why experiences like the Super Bowl LVIII broadcast on Nickelodeon starring SpongeBob SquarePants and the rest of the Bikini Bottom gang fit perfectly into this new realm. It married all of these important elements: a passionate fanbase, characters loved by multiple generations, and an event that brought families and communities together.

If there’s any question for toy and game companies about whether watchable experiences are worth investing in, the answer is an emphatic “123 million times yes!” CBS Sports’ coverage of Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched telecast in history, recording a total audience of 123.4 million average viewers across all platforms, including the CBS broadcast, over-the-top streaming, and — of course — the Nickelodeon version of the game.

If your social media feed wasn’t filled with clips of Nickelodeon characters simplifying and explaining football terms, let me fill you in: Nickelodeon provided an alternate telecast of the Super Bowl in real-time, complete with favorite characters, slime-filled endzones, and a performance of the iconic “Sweet Victory” song from SpongeBob SquarePants.

This Super Bowl was huge — with a lot of the NFL publicity and headlines surrounding music superstar Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s relationship. Even without the added excitement of Swift’s attendance, Super Bowl Sunday is an unofficial American holiday with families gathering around the TV to watch the final matchup even if they haven’t caught a single down of regular season football. Millions of people tune in for the billion-dollar ad campaigns and star-studded halftime show, while others just show up for the snacks.

So, what does it take for a simultaneous broadcast to attract an audience during this highly anticipated event?

“The way we always tried to do it was to create a broadcast that was aimed at kids and spoke to them where they are and met them where they were, but at the same time, handle the business of doing a football game in a way that parents who like to watch football will also enjoy,” says Luke Wahl, Vice President of Creative for Digital and Unscripted at Nickelodeon.

This wasn’t Nickelodeon’s first foray into partnering with the NFL — it was the fifth time the brands have come together. And like with any good licensing agreement, the program’s success relied on two major factors: a brand people love and a good product.

“SpongeBob is inarguably the most iconic brand at Nickelodeon,” Wahl says. “And also for our purposes … SpongeBob, the brand itself, is so intrinsically woven into the way that we communicate with memes and all that stuff, so I think it was just an easy choice for us.”

The “product” in this case was such a success — viral on social media, highly viewed, talked about for days, even weeks, after the fact — because it leaned into all of the humor and silliness that both kids and adults love about Nickelodeon brands. From jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio dating 25-year-old models and celebrity name puns like “Olivia Codrigo” to Dora the Explorer teaching kids about different penalties, there was something for everyone in Nickelodeon’s well-thought-out, but often simultaneously spontaneous broadcast.

“It’s respectful; it’s just cheeky a little bit. We’re never mean ever, that’s not what we do. But we are definitely silly and fun, and I know it’s the Super Bowl, but it’s a broadcast for kids,” Wahl explains. “At the same time, the broadcast itself is, I would argue, the most technologically advanced live sporting broadcast that ever existed in the history of broadcasting. That’s the duality of it: You have SpongeBob and Patrick and Dora being playful about what’s going on, but yet at the same time, working with CBS, we’re executing what is absolutely this high-wire act of trying to integrate all these new technologies into a game.”

The bigger the audience, the more chance you have for licensing success, right? Sports fandoms are great because they span all intersections of people. You team up that large audience with a brand that kids love, and you get an experience that the whole family can get behind.

“SpongeBob is so deeply woven into the tapestry of so many people’s youth,” Wahl, a father himself, says. “We have kids who are 8 years old, like my son, who love SpongeBob today. And then you have millennials — and current active football players — who grew up with it. The SpongeBob brand is ubiquitous and it spans generations.”

These types of experiences immerse families in the world of their favorite brands in a big way. Then, you add in their favorite NFL stars, and all of a sudden, all of their worlds collide. They feel seen, they feel like they belong, and they feel like they love something — isn’t that the goal of a good program?

When it comes to mobile gaming, the name on everybody’s lips is Roblox, so it’s no surprise that the platform was in on this collaboration, too. On Feb. 2, Gamefam partnered with Paramount to launch the biggest Super Bowl cross-game event on Roblox. The launch provided a wide array of Nickelodeon and NFL-themed, game-based content to the platform’s more than 70 million daily users — most of whom are Gens Z and Alpha. The launch was centered in the SpongeBob Simulator on Roblox, but expanded across other games and experiences, including Super NFL Tycoon, TMNT Battle Tycoon, Twilight Daycare, and Easy Obby.

“If we’ve learned anything in the past few years, it’s that metaverse gaming has proven itself as the place to be to get in front of a rapidly expanding and increasingly engaged younger audience who are hungry for fun,” says Ricardo Briceno, Chief Business Officer at Gamefam. “Across our work with the NFL and Paramount, we’ve always looked to amplify the excitement and impact of one of the biggest IRL events in the world by translating it faithfully, but also authentically, to the metaverse.“

But these crossover sports experiences aren’t solely limited to the screen. For fans of the written word, Dr. Seuss partners with the NFL for its Tackle Reading program every year, putting on events during the week of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, in which a current or alumnus NFL player (this year it was Bowl XXXIV Champion Torry Holt) will read a Dr. Seuss book at a school-wide assembly. Students can hear motivational messages from NFL athletes, and the school receives a collection of Random House Children’s Books for its library, including an individual Dr. Seuss book for each student. NFL mascots, cheerleaders, and more also make appearances.

Licensing is expanding far beyond the simple “here’s a toy from the movie” (Although, don’t knock the classics!), and those in kids’ and family brands and entertainment should prepare for a shift. What better way to kick off your new marketing plan than with a trip to the big leagues: immersive events that continue to build strong, fan communities.

A version of this feature was originally published in The Toy Book’s 2024 Licensing & Entertainment Issue. Click here to read the full issue! Want to receive The Toy Book in print? Click here for subscription options!