Ascore bugis adigital on-screen graphicwhich is displayed at either the top orlower thirdbottom of thetelevision screenduring a broadcast of a sporting event in order to display the current score and other statistics.[1]
History
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The concept of a persistent score bug forassociation footballmatches was devised bySky SportsheadDavid Hill,who was dissatisfied over having to wait to see what the score was after tuning into a match in-progress. The score bug was introduced during Sky's coverage of the newly-formed EnglishPremier Leaguein August 1992. Hill's Boss repeatedly demanded that the graphic be removed, describing it as the "stupidest thing [he] had ever seen". Hill defied the Boss 's demands and kept the graphic in place.[2]ITV introduced a score bug at the start of the 1993-94 football season, and theBBCintroduced a score bug towards the end of 1993.
The concept was introduced to the United States byABC SportsandESPNduring coverage of the1994 FIFA World Cup.Their justification for the graphic was to provide a location for a rotating series ofsponsorlogos, in order to allow matches to air without commercial interruption.[2]
With the acquisition of rights to theNational Football LeaguebyBSkyB's American siblingFox(a fellow venture ofRupert Murdoch), Hill became the first president ofFox Sports.Fox's version of the score bug was branded as the "Fox Box", and was part of itsinaugural seasonofNFL coveragein 1994.[2]Varietycriticized it as an "annoying see-through clock and score graphic" and expressed concern for people "who actually watched the beginning of the game and would rather have their screen clear of graphics".[3]
Hill once received a death threat from an irate viewer, with a specific emphasis on him being a "foreigner",[4]but the score bug soon became a ubiquitous feature of all sports broadcasts in the USA in the years that followed.[5][2]
Dick EbersolofNBC Sportsopposed the idea of a score bug, because he thought that fans would dislike seeing more graphics on the screen, and would change the channel fromblowoutgames.[6]
Since the 2010s, the on-air design and positioning of some score bugs have been influenced by the needs ofInternet video(especially when viewing an event on devices with smaller screens), including bugs noticeably larger than prior iterations designed with television viewing in mind, and Fox having adopted a score bug positioned in the bottom-center of the screen for football (easing the ability for the bug to remain visible when highlights are cropped forsquare videosposted on social media).[7][8][9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Newth, Alex."What Is a Score Bug? (with picture)".Easy Tech Junkie.Conjecture Corporation.RetrievedJune 26,2021.
- ^abcdSandomir, Richard (2014-06-12)."The Innovation That Grew and Grew".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2020-01-07.
- ^Cox, Dan (September 6, 1994)."NFL on Fox Review".Variety.RetrievedJanuary 9,2021.
- ^Curtis, Bryan (2018-12-13)."The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever".The Ringer.Retrieved2020-02-08.
- ^Lucia, Joe (April 6, 2021)."Which RSN has the best MLB scorebug?".Awful Announcing.
- ^Curtis, Bryan (December 13, 2018)."The Great NFL Heist: How Fox Paid for and Changed Football Forever".TheRinger.RetrievedJanuary 9,2021.
- ^"Fox redesigns its NFL graphics for the point-your-phone-at-the-TV era".AV Club.Retrieved2024-07-26.
- ^Bupp, Phillip (2022-02-13)."NBC debuts a more centered scorebug for the Super Bowl".Awful Announcing.Retrieved2024-07-26.
- ^Koo, Ben (2016-10-05)."ESPN and TBS debut new massive, oversized score bugs because of millennials? Maybe old people?".Awful Announcing.Retrieved2024-07-26.
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