You might have seen it on NBC during Sunday Night Football for the New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game. When snow covered numbers and yard markers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High Stadium, NBC was prepared. It used virtual technology to display the numbers so fans could see them at home. The fans inside the stadium could not see the technology, but for viewers, it was quite a boon to see them.
Too much snow on the field? No problem. Here are virtual field numbers to help the viewing experience. pic.twitter.com/suJLFDY8rA
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) November 30, 2015
This is not the first time a network has superimposed numbers on a snowy field. Fox did this for the Detroit Lions-Philadelphia Eagles game two years ago.
But NBC had its own technology in its back pocket. It had had it since 2006 when it got the rights to Sunday Night Football. Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli who was the first person to use the virtual 1st and Ten line which is now standard on all football telecasts was in charge of the yard markers and numbers for Denver-New England.
And when exactly did Gaudelli decide to use the virtual numbers last night?
The decision was made because sitting in the truck, we could no longer tell the yard line the ball was on. At that point we figured all of America was having the same problem and we decided to use it. Football purists want to know where the ball is, we thought we were helping everyone.
Technology certainly can enhance things and as long as it’s not intrusive, it can help the viewer gain a better experience of the game. When it gets to be too much, it can leave too much clutter on the screen, but in this case, the virtual numbers certainly added to the experience.
