CBS had a good idea on Sunday for its broadcast of snowy conditions in the AFC championship game.
But the network quickly and wisely abandoned it as the execution caused more problems then it solved.
The game in Denver between the Broncos and New England Patriots started in clear conditions with yard markers clearly standing out from the green field on the broadcast. But as snow and hazy conditions took over after halftime, the yard lines and hash marks were covered and indistinguishable on the broadcast.
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CBS attempted to solve this problem with digitally imposed yard lines overlayed on the field. But the digitized markers caused players from both teams to appear transparent when they interacted, particularly Patriots players who were wearing white.
This drew immediate complaints on social media …
.. and another on-point tweet from the ArtButMakeItSports account.
By early in the fourth quarter, CBS had gotten the memo. This wasn’t working.
CBS abandoned the digital lines at the expense of confusion for viewers and even broadcasters Jim Nantz and Tony Romo over where the ball actually was on the field. Nantz and Romo had this to say after a fourth-quarter Patriots punt:
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Romo: “You couldn’t even see the ball from up here.”
Nanzt: “It’s low visibility. … I’d love to tell you exactly where they marked the football. But folks, it would just be a wild guess.”
It wasn’t optimal. But it was better than the alternative for a game of this magnitude. The digital lines were a failure, and CBS made the correct decision to remove them shortly after it realized they weren’t working.
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