ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with ‘MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats’ NFL Altcasts
Adrenaline’s TruPlay AI technology gives fans a deeper, data-driven look at every moment of the game
Story Highlights
Data visualization tools are now ubiquitous across every live NFL broadcast, as production teams look to bring data-centric storytelling to fans on a wider scale. Since the launch of NFL Next Gen Stats a decade ago, broadcasters have continued to find new and innovative ways to deliver deeper insights into the action on the field for avid fans. Tonight, ESPN takes those efforts to the next level with the debut of its MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats altcast.
“From a data visualization standpoint, I think it’s the richest opportunity we’ve had at ESPN,” says Phil Orlins, VP, Production Technology & Innovation for ESPN. “We have done of a lot this [data visualization] over the years and I think this is right at the top of the list in terms of what’s possible using data to tell the story. And obviously, in terms of the property, it doesn’t get any bigger than the NFL. So this is a really special opportunity for us.”
MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats will feature real-time data and probabilities, advanced metrics and AI-driven pre-snap insights, and analytics-focused commentary from the booth – all powered by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and Adrenaline’s TruPlay AI – for five of ESPN’s final six games of the 2025-26 season beginning tonight with MNF’s 49ers-Colts matchup.
Tonight’s broadcast will be built around a 22-man, all-field camera view – rather than the traditional game camera – and tap into TruPlay AI’s live predictive engine – capable of adjusting to personnel, formations, and pre-snap movement in real time. With a database of more than 370,000 NFL plays layered with NFL Next Gen Stats, TruPlay AI equips the presentation with dynamic run-pass probabilities, expected target distributions, blitz likelihoods and more.
“You’re going to actually see the data change dynamically and updates in real time on the screen up until the snap,” says Orlins. “All the [pre-snap] movement, audibles, substitution changes, misdirection happening on the field create an incredible opportunity to truly illuminate some things that are not typically seen [in a broadcast].”
Running on Adrenaline: How ‘MNF Playbook’ Came to Be
The broadcast will mark ESPN’s latest data-driven altcast outing, following in the footsteps of numerous MLB Statcast efforts (most notably at the Home Run Derby) and NBA InsightCasts during last season’s playoff run – not to mention the network’s various NBA, NFL and NHL animated altcasts.
And Orlins is always on the lookout for the “next big thing” that could be a data-visualization “difference-maker”. So in August, when Orlins and Tim Reed, VP of NFL Programming and Acquisitions, were introduced to Adrenaline, a data-focused sports startup founded by 11-year NFL veteran and former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee, he immediately saw a potential winner.
“Sean showed us what they could do in terms of run-pass probabilities, expected receiver targets, and blitz likelihoods, and it was very impressive,” he recounts. “It wasn’t live, but we saw the foundation of what was possible and told us that, if they could get the [NGS] data in real time, they could create these [visuals] in real time as well.”
ESPN worked with Josh Helmrich, the NFL’s Senior Director of Media Strategy, Business Development, and Next Gen Stats, and his team to provide Adrenaline with the firehouse of NGS data, and they were off to the races. By the time the NFL season kicked off in September, ESPN and Adrenaline were live testing the technology during games.
“We watched their app running live that night with dots representing all the players over a graphic of the field and the real-time data pulsing through for each probability,” says Orlins. “That’s when we got serious about making this happen – both within ESPN and with the league.”
Lead graphic designer Scott Dickens and the ESPN Creative Studio team then built out a visual demo to show what was possible using Adrenaline within a live broadcast, and “I think it really changed the conversation and put things on the fast track,” says Orlins.
Behind the Scenes: Production Team in Bristol, Dedicated Cameras On-Site
The production team – led by ESPN altcast veteran producers Andy Jacobson (who will be at the front bench tonight) or Ben Ward and director Joel Molinsky – will produce each of the five shows from a REMI control room at ESPN’s Bristol, CT campus. The model will be similar to one of ESPN’s enhanced world feed REMI operations with the production team creating its own show using the main MNF line-cut, several MNF camera feeds (including the Skycam, All 22, and high-end zone), three unilateral cameras, three dedicated replay operators, and its own graphics and scorebug operators.
“We had a rehearsal last Monday – using just the All 22 [angle] without our own cameras like we will have [tonight] and it went extremely well,” says Orlins. “I feel pretty good that we’re going to hit the ground running. I’m sure there will be improvements along the way, but I can tell you that – despite this all coming together rather quickly – we’re approaching this launch very aggressively.”
In terms of cameras, the MNF Playbook production will have two primary game-coverage shots – on the near and far 20-yard lines – that will split the field, as well as a reverse 50-yard line position – all with full AR capabilities
“From an analytical standpoint, we have all the angles and tools we need for our announcers to do break down the game,” says Orlins. “And the game cameras will literally be side by side with the main ESPN left 20 and right 20, but we will just shoot a little bit wider so you can see the full secondary on any pass play. It won’t be a traditional ultra-wide All 22 shot per se, but you’re going to see all the receiver routes and the secondary on every play. Aside from that, it will be the same exact camera height and positioning as you’re used to watching football.”
The ESPN Creative Studio team worked closely G3DVU (provider of the 1st and Ten line and other AR elements) and Adrenaline to create the on-air look and determine how the data/probabilities would be presented within the frame.
The production team will also have VR immersive replay segments (from Beyond Sports) and AR-telestrator replays available shortly after each play since the MNF Playbook broadcast will be running on a four-second delay compared to the main broadcast.
The production team has also worked closely with ESPN Analytics and ESPN Creative Studio teams to develop a new approach to analytical graphics. For example, the MNF Playbook dashboard graphic will be more informative than ever before by using data from NGS to identify personnel and formations in real-time. Expect to see data metrics like pass block win rates, run block win rates, and yards per carry above expected regularly incorporated into on-screen graphics.
“We’ve worked closely with the elite ESPN analytics team to develop a graphics approach that filters out a lot of the noise and focuses on true performance metrics,” says Orlins. “You are more likely to see Jonathan Taylor’s rush yards above expectation rather than yards per carry. We plan on using these graphics aggressively.”
Key contributors to bringing tonight’s broadcast to life include Adrenaline CEO Casey Huke and Lee, who is Head of Sports Data; G3DVU CEO Nikhil Deshpande and VP of Testing and Operations Craig Dutra; ESPN Creative Studio’s Scott Dickens (who led on field graphic development), Producer of Creative Production Matthew Bernabeo and Senior Art Director Thomas Maloney; ESPN Software Development’s Senior Manager Software Engineering Will Gairing and Senior Manager of Software Engineering Joe Durante; ESPN REMI Operations’ Senior Director Dan Lannon, Manager Marissa Bonertz, Lead Technical Director Tim Kosko, Supervisor Scott Chamberland, Technical Director Lili Garner, Lead Audio Brian Vigouroux, Senior Tech Operations Manager Erik Barone, and Senior Manager Remote Operations Tommy Mitchell.
In the Booth: Talent Remains the Key To Unlocking the Data
While the technology is the axis on which the MNF Playbook broadcast turns, Orlins says the ability for on-air talent to offer engaging, teachable, and dynamic analysis of the game each week is of equal importance.
“If you put the right voices [in the booth] with all that data, you can really make this incredibly complex game seem much more accessible,” says Orlins. “And we’re lucky to have some of the most brilliant football minds around for these [broadcasts].”
Tonight and next Monday, Luke Kuechly — the former Carolina Panthers standout linebacker and seven-time Pro Bowler — will team up with ESPN NFL analysts Dan Orlovsky and Field Yates to call the action from Bristol. Then, in the weeks that follow, a rotating roster of ESPN commentators, including Mike Monaco, Tim Hasselbeck and Chase Daniel, will join the booth.
“This is very different from the conventional play-by-play and analyst roles,” says Orlins. “We are encouraging the analysts to talk up through the snap and even after the snap, and the play-by-play role is much more conversational.
In addition, either Brian Burke or Seth Walder will serve as the presentation’s analytics experts each week. As the show’s resident data experts, they’ll complement the analysis of the commentators by translating real-time probabilities and advanced metrics into clear, compelling insights. ESPN Analytics’ Mike Proia, Matt Morris, and John Parolin are also playing key roles behind the scenes.
“I think of [the analytics experts] usage as similar to the replay review expert [on traditional NFL broadcasts], but just for a different topic than officiating,” says Orlins. “We’ll use them periodically as the situation dictates to illuminate what goes into those 4th-and-3, go-or-no-go decisions and other deeper analytical topics like that.”
A Wide Spectrum to Target: Interactive Diehards and Loyal Diehards
While AI-powered data overlays for pre-snap action aren’t necessarily new – Amazon Prime Video uses them on its Thursday Night Football streams and offers a Prime Vision alternate experience for every game – Orlins believes MNF Playbook will offer a more holistic experience.
“I think this really is going to provide a totally new way for [fans] to experience the game and we’re building the entire [broadcast] around that data, including the voices you’ll hear and how the game is presented,” he says. “This also offered us a chance to break out all kinds of new [metrics] and find ways to make them relevant [to the viewer]. It’s just a great opportunity to take a fresh look at that stuff and present it in some different ways.
The target audience for MNF Playbook also allows the production team to go as deep as it likes. According to Orlins, ESPN data shows that well over 50% of its NFL audience falls into those two categories of fan: interactive diehards (passionate in the participatory sense via fantasy and betting) and loyal diehards (passionate about the game itself with an unquenchable thirst for more information and analysis). He believes the MNF Playbook format can play to both.
“You put those two categories together, and there’s no shortage of people that potentially could find this interesting,” he says. “So we don’t have to worry about turning off the audience because if they’re watching, then they either understand these concepts or they have some desire to learn more about them.”
SVG Director of Digital Brandon Costa contributed to this story.
