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- John Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Lexi Thompson confirmed to take part
- ViacomCBS’ children’s network diversifies sports offering beyond NFL
- Broadcast to feature AR overlays and other Nickelodeon elements
ViacomCBS-owned children’s network Nickelodeon is launching a new celebrity golf tournament designed to engage younger audiences.
The two-round ‘Slime Cup’ event will see four teams – each comprising of one professional golfer, a celebrity and a Nickelodeon star – compete for the title.
Nickelodeon has brought onboard the team behind The Match, the popular Turner Sports’ celebrity golf tournament, to oversee production. The broadcast will feature a ‘Nick-ified’ golf course that blends augmented reality (AR) and a specialised course set up across a couple of sites.
Each hole will be inspired by a Nickelodeon programme, culminating in ‘The Unfairway’, an unpredictable final round challenge. The Slime Cup’s final hole will take place at the Rose Bowl stadium in Los Angeles. Production will start imminently at a golf course in the local area and premiere on the network in the summer.
Top names from the professional game have been signed up, including John Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Lexi Thompson. The celebrities confirmed so far are the National Football League’s (NFL) Saquon Barkley and Justin Herbert, as well as actor Terry Crews, plus Nickelodeon personalities Isaiah Crews, Kate Godfrey, Jaidyn Triplett and Tyler Wladis. More names will be confirmed, with Excel Sports Management assisting on securing talent.
The event will be hosted by Nickelodeon commentator Gabrielle Nevaeh Green, who also fronted the child-friendly broadcasts the network has produced for NFL wild card playoff games over the last two years.
The NFL broadcasts, created in conjunction with CBS Sports, have proved a hit with young audiences and now the US media giant is seeing if it can enjoy similar success in golf. CBS has a broadcast partnership with the PGA Tour, which could open the door to further crossover work.
“We are inventing our own golf match,” Brian Robbins, chief executive of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, told Variety. “It’s definitely different.”
