A guest post today from colleague Scott Huntington.
The NFL season is kicking off, and football fans are eagerly anticipating what the new season will hold. As far as NFL broadcasts go, we can expect a few small changes.
New Broadcast Teams
Most of the NFL TV providers’ broadcast teams will stay largely the same this year, with the exception of ESPN’s Monday night squad. ESPN’s recently announced new team includes Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters.
Tessitore and Witten will announce from the booth with Tessitore on play-by-play and Witten providing game analysis. McFarland and Salters will be on the field level with McFarland providing analysis and Salters reporting.
Other stations introduced some changes too, but not as extensive as those of ESPN.
More Mobile
This season we’ll see increased use of streaming on mobile devices for watching NFL games, continuing the trend of the last few years.
Until December 2017, Verizon had exclusive rights to show NFL games on mobile devices. After the company gave up that exclusivity, CBS, ESPN, NBC and Fox all gained the rights to show some of their broadcasts on mobile.
The deals line up with the networks’ TV deals, giving them access until 2022. The companies hope they will help attract a younger audience to their broadcasts.
The Green Zone
NBC introduced a new feature this season called the Green Zone, which is designed to show how far a runner needs to go on a third down to get a first down. The effect makes the area between the first down marker and the line of scrimmage a darker shade of green than the rest of the field.
Fans reaction has been mixed to this new addition, many citing the fact that the yellow line previously served the same purpose. NBC has said the Green Zone makes it easier to see how far is left to go for a first. As the season progress, we’ll see if fans warm up to the change and whether the network decides to keep it around or switch back to the trusty yellow line.
More Eagles
Speaking of green, a little team called the Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl last year. And in case you haven’t noticed, the NFL is cashing in on all the excitement as much as possible. They’re also giving them some of the best spots for games, since these games are sure to score some major ratings.
That started Thursday, as they defeated the Falcons in the first NFL game of the season. They have 5 of their 16 games in Primetime, and another at 9:30am in Europe. The bottom line? You’ll be seeing a lot of green this year.
Sports Gambling
In May, the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Act, which had made betting on sports illegal in many parts of the country. Since then, several states have already started accepting bets on sports.
While people have always bet on sports, broadcasters traditionally have avoided the topic or only discussed it in subtle ways that those not knowledgeable about sports gambling wouldn’t notice.
The Supreme Court decision sets the groundwork for a more open discussion of sports gambling.
Networks are already discussing how these changes will alter their broadcasts. CBS has said it will keep mentions of gambling out of its broadcasts, while Fox has announced an hour-long show about sports betting. It remains to be seen how the change in the law will affect sports broadcasting as a whole. 
The National Anthem
The NFL and the various TV providers will have to continue to wrestle with the controversy surrounding players kneeling during the national anthem in protest of inequality.
Some networks have said they won’t broadcast it or will only do so on special occasions. In reality, they have seldom shown it in the past. Many people will likely see networks’ decisions to show or not show the national anthem as a statement of some sort. TV stations will have to consider this in their decisions.
Are you ready for another year of football? Of course you are — maybe even a little more so now that you know what broadcast changes to expect.
