Fans complain as some CBS affiliates show school closings during AFC Championship Game

Schools across the country are closing down as a massive winter storm stretches from Texas to New England. And as is standard operating procedure during such events, many local television affiliates are using a crawl on the bottom of the screen to inform viewers about local closures and weather conditions.

Unfortunately, the inclement weather has coincided with the NFL’s conference championship weekend. As such, many fans are upset as their local CBS affiliates opt to keep the bottom-screen tickers active throughout the AFC Championship Game.

Can CBS remove the bottom clicker of school closures for the AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME???

Biggest game of the year and I don’t care if Horizon Science Academy is closed tomorrow or not #NEvsDEN #NFL

— Gavin Smith (@GavSmith4) January 25, 2026

YO CAN WE GET THIS OFF THE SCREEN?? #broncos #Patriot #nfl #cbs pic.twitter.com/49HyLlDKi3

— Thegoatofsiege22 (@Glennquaqmire24) January 25, 2026

@NFLonCBS please remove the school closing ticker on the bottom of the screen @CBS

— AlecZeoli (@aleczeoli) January 25, 2026

Yo @CBS I totally get what’s happening outside, but y’all need to turn off these top and bottom weather alert tickers when the game starts… 😤

— 7° (@7degREEscold) January 25, 2026

Now, local broadcast channels play a key role in informing their communities, especially in severe weather scenarios. But there’s certainly a healthy debate to be had about whether or not information like school closings, which can be readily found elsewhere, need to be permanently on-screen during a widely viewed event like the AFC Championship Game.

Some fans clearly do not believe so.

It should be noted, many local CBS affiliates have opted to remove school closure tickers for the game. WUSA, the Washington, D.C. CBS affiliate, removed the ticker once the game broadcast began, but kept it on during The NFL Today pregame show. WSPA, the upstate South Carolina CBS affiliate, appears to be rotating its ticker, having it scroll through school closures once before removing it for a period. Other affiliates, like WBNS in Columbus, OH, are keeping the ticker permanently on-screen.

Ultimately, the decision is up to each local station. That makes sense, considering the severe weather varies from location to location.

However, that means some viewers have to deal with with distracting tickers and wonky aspect ratios during two of the most important NFL games of the year.