The AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos turned into a snowstorm in the second half on Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High. And with snow covering the field, CBS chose to add digitally-enhanced yard lines in an attempt to give viewers a better idea of where the ball was.
That idea was fine in theory, but the actual execution only made things even more chaotic and disoriented for CBS viewers.
The yard lines and numbers on the field looked like somebody flipped a light switch, and players looked like ghosts as they ran through the superimposed lines, with the Patriots’ all-white uniforms only amplifying the visual issues.
That led to a ton of viewer complaints on social media. Here are a few examples:
After eight plays over two series, CBS finally removed the digital yard lines and returned to the natural look of the snow-covered field. But there was an adjustment, with CBS adding the yard-line location to the scorebug ahead of most snaps down the stretch.
While the digital yard lines didn’t go over well with viewers, it was an understandable attempt to try to be creative with the broadcast in tough conditions, and at least CBS made a proper adjustment in the end.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.