Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
The Golden State Warriors’ road game vs. the New Orleans Pelicans will be Marvel-themed.
If you are really into The Avengers, then you are really going to be into ESPN’s May 3 telecast of the Golden State Warriors‘ game at the New Orleans Pelicans.
Yes, the Western Conference NBA game will be Marvel-themed. It will reportedly incorporate elements from a Marvel story and have many of their iconic characters involved. The studio providing commentary on this game will be Marvel-themed. This is a move made by Disney president Bob Iger to attract more viewers to his television product on ESPN. Will it work or not?
Is this content for the future or will the idea be a bad one for the Disney television property?
Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans game will be Marvel themed
It would serve Disney to at least give this cross-brand promotion a try. The media conglomerate has to find a way to get the ratings up on its regular-season NBA games. Even though the Warriors and the Pelicans are not top-tier Western Conference teams in 2021, they have their own “superheroes” in point guard Stephen Curry and young phenom forward Zion Williamson.
Frankly, if Nickelodeon can have a joint telecast of a Chicago Bears at the New Orleans Saints NFL Wild Card game, Disney should give this a whirl. While the move may be distracting to some NBA diehards, this is a decision to potentially attract new viewers by way of a younger audience. If you like Spider-man, you’ll probably like Steph. If you’re into The Hulk, then Zion has to be your guy.
Disney being willing to have a Marvel-themed NBA game is a creative, but desperate move.