1980 American football game broadcast without commentators
The announcerless game was an American football contest played on December 20, 1980, between the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. As an experiment, the NBC television network broadcast it without assigning any commentators to cover it. The two teams were playing the last game of that season for them as neither had qualified for the playoffs, and since the game was being broadcast nationally NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer decided on the idea to boost what would otherwise have been weak ratings. The Jets won a 24–17 upset victory.[1]
To replace the announcers, the network used more on-screen graphics than usual and asked the public address announcer at the Miami Orange Bowl to impart more information than he typically did. Efforts to use more sensitive microphones and pick up more sound from the field, however, did not succeed. While the experiment did increase the telecast's ratings, it was widely regarded as a failure since it did not provide sufficient context for viewers. No network, cable or internet broadcaster of any major U.S. professional sports team has ever tried it again, except through alternate feeds of games offered without announcers,[2] until a July 3, 2022, MLB game on Peacock between the Royals and Tigers.
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