NFL on Fox

NFL on Fox
New logo that began with the 2014 season.
Starring	Fox NFL Sunday crew NFL on Fox game commentators
Country of origin	United States
Production
Production locations	NFL stadiums Fox Network Center, Los Angeles (studio)
Running time	180 minutes or until game ends
Production companies	National Football League Fox Sports
Original release
Network	Fox Fox Deportes (Spanish language, select regular season and playoff games)
Release	September 4, 1994 (1994-09-04) – present

NFL on Fox is the brand name of the Fox Broadcasting Company's coverage of the National Football League's National Football Conference games, produced by Fox Sports. Game coverage is usually preceded by the pre-game show Fox NFL Sunday and followed by The OT, a post-game show with the Fox NFL Sunday hosts.

History

Though Fox was growing rapidly as a network, and had established itself as a presence, it was still not considered a major competitor to the "big three" broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC). Fox management, having seen the critical role that soccer programming had played in the growth of British satellite service BSkyB, believed that sports, and specifically professional football, would be the engine that would make Fox a major network the quickest.

Early bids

To this end, Fox bid aggressively for football from the start. In 1987 (Fox's first full year on the air), after ABC initially hedged on renewing its contract to carry Monday Night Football, Fox offered the NFL to pick up the contract for the same amount ABC had been paying, about $1.3 billion at the time. However, the NFL, in part because Fox had not established itself as a major network, chose to renew their contract with ABC.

Meanwhile, after the Fox Television Network was launched, United States Football League founder David Dixon proposed the "American Football Federation", which would have 10 teams and draft academically ineligible high school graduates.

Despite a few successful shows, the network did not have a significant market share until the early 1990s when News Corp. bought more TV station groups, such as New World Communications and Chris-Craft Industries' BHC Communications and United Television, making it the largest owner of television stations in the United States. The time now filled by the NFL on Fox on Sunday afternoons was formerly in the control of the stations themselves, who usually filled them with either weekend syndicated series or Sunday afternoon movie blocks.

Fox outbids CBS for the NFC package

Six years later, when the football contract was up for renewal again, Fox made what at the time, was a bold and aggressive move to acquire the rights. Knowing that they would likely need to bid considerably more than the incumbent networks to acquire a piece of the package, Fox bid $1.58 billion for four years of rights to the NFC, exceeding CBS' bid by more than $100 million a year. The NFC was considered the more desirable conference (as opposed to the AFC package that NBC carried at the time) due to its presence in most of the largest U.S. markets, such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. To the surprise and shock of many, in late 1993, the NFL selected the Fox bid, in the process stripping CBS of football for the first time since 1956. Fox's coverage would start in the 1994 season.

CBS apparently underestimated the value of its rights with respect to its advertising revenues and to its promotional opportunities for other network programming. Indeed, Fox was still an upstart player in 1993, not yet considered on par with the "Big Three" networks - CBS, NBC and ABC. The network had already had offbeat hits such as The Simpsons, Married...With Children and Beverly Hills, 90210. However, Fox did not have a sports division to that point, their news division was several years away from fruition, and Fox affiliates were often found on either UHF stations or low-powered stations.

CBS personalities move to Fox

See also: Fox affiliate switches of 1994

The vast resources of Rupert Murdoch allowed the network to grow quickly, primarily to the detriment of CBS. After bringing in David Hill from Murdoch's U.K.-based Sky Sports to head-up the new Fox Sports division, Fox raided the CBS Sports staff, hiring longtime producer Ed Goren as Hill's second-in-command. Fox was also able to procure Pat Summerall and John Madden to be its lead broadcast team, as they had been so for CBS. Terry Bradshaw, who was previously co-host of The NFL Today, was added to be the pregame show's lead analyst. Dick Stockton and Matt Millen were also added from CBS and became the network's #2 broadcast team, while James Brown, who had called games for CBS, was hired to be the studio host.

In spring 1994, Fox's parent News Corporation struck an alliance with New World Communications, by now a key ownership group with several VHF CBS affiliates in NFC markets, and wary of a CBS without football. Nearly all of New World's stations converted en masse to Fox beginning that fall. The rights gave Fox many new viewers (and affiliates) and a platform for advertising its other shows.

A brand new era

Fox's of football was a watershed event not only for the network but for the NFL as well. Not only was it the event that placed Fox on a par with the "big three" broadcast networks but it also ushered in an era of growth for the NFL which continues on largely to this day.

While the heavy concentration of in NFC markets – as opposed to the smaller markets generally served by the AFC – virtually guaranteed a substantial audience, its instant success has nonetheless been remarkable given the differences between Fox's coverage and the coverage provided by ABC, CBS, ESPN, TNT, and NBC up to that time.

"Same Game, New Attitude"

Fox's launch slogan was "Same Game, New Attitude". The network's pre-game show, Fox NFL Sunday focused more on entertainment and less on in-depth discussion of X's and O's. It also introduced bolder and innovative graphics, for instance, the FoxBox, a continuous on-screen time-and-score graphic that Hill had originally used on Sky Sports's coverage of the Premier League. also used parabolic microphones to include the sounds of the stands and of the on-field action. These innovations were adopted by rival networks and helped to drive the development of further such as the virtual first-down and scrimmage lines.

Post-game show: The OT

Beginning in 2005, Fox's post-game show was expanded to an hour-long slot (regularly scheduled at 7:00 p.m. ET) and branded as The OT, competing against NBC's Football Night in America. Fox had previously scheduled original programs in the slot, but they were often subject to pre-emption due to games over-running into the 7:00 p.m. hour, which impacted their ratings performance.

Changes for 2006

After the 2005 season, James Brown left Fox to return to CBS Sports, where he would be the host of The NFL Today. On August 16, 2006, after weeks of speculation, the network officially announced that Joe Buck would take over the role. The move also changed the show from a permanent Los Angeles studio into a portable studio configuration, similar to the pregame show for NASCAR on Fox, where analysts Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson joined Buck at the game to which Buck is assigned as play-by-play announcer. Curt Menefee worked all halftime shows and all postgame shows on non-doubleheader Sundays, also from the same game site with the same analysts. Menefee hosted Fox NFL Sunday during the several weeks in October when Buck was not available; during that time, Buck called Major League Baseball postseason games, including the World Series. The October 15, 22 and 29 shows were broadcast from the Los Angeles studios; the show returned to the road on November 5.

It was also announced that weather reporter Jillian Barberie (now Jillian Reynolds) would not return for the coming season, as Barberie wished to stay at home in Los Angeles with her family. Barberie did participate in at least one of the studio shows.

During the 2006 season, Chris Rose provided updated highlights during the game from the Los Angeles studio as a voice talent.

On November 17, 2006, a source told the Los Angeles Times that the final two pregame shows of 2006 would take place in the Los Angeles studios, with Buck hosting and Dick Stockton taking Buck's place at the games alongside Troy Aikman. The source cited that declining ratings no longer justified its high production costs, including security expenses. A Fox spokesman would only say that changes were being considered.

2006 playoffs controversies

Main article: NFL playoffs, 2006-07

The Fox Broadcasting Company came under fire by the Parents Television Council for showing a New Orleans Saints fan wearing a shirt reading "F*** DA EAGLES" in Saints colors. Three days after the broadcast, the network apologized. The Saints fan, Heather Rothstein, was contacted by Maxim magazine and was given a photo shoot.

Also during the 2006 NFC Championship between the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field, in one shot from the overhead camera angle of the crowd, three Bears fans were seen giving an obscene gesture towards the field.

Changes for 2007

After the 2006 NFL season, Fox NFL Sunday returned to the Los Angeles studio throughout the entire 2007 regular season and for the 2 weeks of that year's postseason. Curt Menefee became the full-time host of the pregame show, while Joe Buck reverted to play-by-play only.

2010 Monday night special

Fox presented a limited Monday night game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings on December 13, 2010. The game had been originally scheduled to be played on the afternoon on December 12, but due to the collapse of the roof of the Metrodome due to a heavy snow event early that morning, the game was moved on short notice to Ford Field in Detroit as that facility already had their full television setup still in place after a Packers/Lions game. Fox Sports had kept their cameras on in the Metrodome overnight the night before the original date of the game and captured the roof collapse in full detail; the video of multiple angles of the early morning collapse was aired on that morning's Fox NFL Sunday and quickly went viral.

The game was only made available on the main Fox stations in the New York and Twin Cities media markets; WNYW in New York and WXXA aired the game in the New York and Albany metro areas, while Minneapolis area station KMSP, Rochester, Minnesota's KXLT and Duluth, Minnesota's KQDS-TV carried the game for the Vikings' markets. The game was also carried on DirecTV via their NFL Sunday Ticket package.

Coincidentally, this was the first game since 1992 that Brett Favre did not start an NFL game, as he was made inactive due to a shoulder injury, ending his streak of 297 consecutive regular season games; Tavaris Jackson started in his place and subsequently Joe Webb's first ever down in an NFL game. In addition, it was the first ever regular-season Monday night game in Ford Field.

Long term contract extension (2014—2022)

On December 14, 2011, the NFL, along with Fox, NBC and CBS, announced the league's rights deal with all three networks was extended to the end of the 2022 season. The three network rights deal includes the continued rotation of the Super Bowl yearly among the three, meaning Fox will air Super Bowls XLVIII (2014), LI (2017), LIV (2020) and LVII (2023).

The 2013 season marked Fox's 20th season of NFL coverage.

Theme music

The iconic NFL on Fox theme music was composed by Scott Schreer; at the time of its introduction, Schreer considered the theme to be a contrast to other television sports themes, as it carried a dark, orchestral sound inspired by the scores of films such as Gladiator. The music was partially inspired by the opening theme of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film; Fox Sports president David Hill had heard the theme while waiting in line for a Batman ride at an amusement park in California, and suggested to creative director George Greenberg (who had recently defected to Fox from ABC Sports) in a phone call that the overlying theme for Fox's NFL theme music should be "Batman plays football". Greenberg would enlist Schreer to compose the theme, describing Hill's request as sounding like "Batman on steroids". Schreer and his team pitched three separate songs to Greenberg and Hill, who then spliced them together into one for the final version.

Beginning at the 2010 National League Championship Series, the NFL on Fox theme became the official theme music for all Fox Sports broadcasts, regardless of sport. In particular, current Fox Sports president Eric Shanks believed that the special theme music it had previously used for post-season baseball was not upbeat enough, and that the change would "[give] all of our sports sort of that marquee feel and it gives us a more upbeat way to come on the air." The change also resulted in the removal of the long-time Major League Baseball on Fox theme (also composed by Schreer).

In-game music

In December 2010, Fox experimented with using an in-game soundtrack during a regional game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers. The following week, Fox publicly announced that it would also do so during a game the following week between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Fox Sports president Eric Shanks revealed that CSI: Miami composer Jeff Cardoni had contributed music for the experiment, and saw potential in the concept, explaining that "just like music in movies, you have to use it at the right times. And imagine trying to score a movie the first time you're seeing it." The concept was met with mixed reaction; sports blogger Michael David Smith believed that the music was too distracting from the game itself, added nothing to the game, and sounded "goofy".

Digital on-screen graphics

Main article: FoxBox (sports)

In its debut in the 1994 season, Fox's coverage featured the first "scoring bug." A transparent white half-capsule-shaped graphic in the upper left corner of the screen displayed the score and game clock throughout the entire telecast, an NFL first.

1996–2000

File:1998 2002 nfl on fox logo by chenglor55-d4ynfxj.png

Logo used from 1998–2002.

By 1996, the graphic changed to a full-statistics panel, where down and distance, penalty, and key in-game statistics would pop in and out when necessary. It was named the "FOX BOX", and its basic design mimicked the "FOX BOX" used in Fox's MLB coverage. For Fox's coverage of Super Bowl XXXIII at the end of the 1998 season, the starting lines ups were shown using a virtual TV. To TV viewers, it appeared as if the end zone opened up and a giant TV came up out of the ground. The virtual TV displayed video announcing the starting line ups. The virtual TV effect was provided by PVI Virtual Media Services using their L-VIS virtual graphics system.

2001–2002

In 2001, Fox implemented a new graphics package for NFL telecasts, an updated version of the 1998 design, but the graphic changed from a bug to a banner spanning the top of the screen, and included a scrolling graphic displaying real-time scores of other games in progress. A simple black rectangle with a shaded transparent area spanned the top of the screen from left to right, displaying the abbreviations of both teams in white. The scores would be shown in white boxes next to the team. The center showed the game clock in white, to its right was the quarter ("1st QTR", "2nd QTR", etc.), and to the right of the quarter was the play clock. The far right was the NFL on Fox logo. For the 2002 season, the white scoring boxes where changed to yellow. This was first seen during Super Bowl XXXVI. This was also the last year that a team's initials would flash in its two primary colors along with percussive sound beats when that team scored (for example, when the Green Bay Packers scored a touchdown on Fox, the "GB" initials and box would flash in green and gold for a few seconds as the six points for the TD were added, then again with the extra point). This banner was used for Major League Baseball on Fox broadcasts through most of the 2004 season.

2003–2005

Logo used from 2003–2005.

File:NFLonFOX.png

Alternate logo from 2003-2005

The banner was given a cosmetic upgrade beginning with the 2003 season. Instead of a large black rectangle, the banner alternated between a large back rectangle and several small, black parallelograms, and the shaded area above it was removed. Instead of abbreviations for the teams, their logos were now used. During the 2003 NFL playoffs, the logos were removed and the team abbreviations were put back in white lettering in the team's main color. The banner returned to a large black rectangle at the start of the 2004 season. with the team logos returning, this time looking more "3-dimensional" and with their respective abbreviations beside the logos, and electronic lettering in the team's main color was used whenever that certain team calls timeout, scores a touchdown, or a field goal. It would be in red whenever the team challenges a play. Also during a touchdown or field goal, the right side of the banner would have a split flashing "light", then the words "TOUCHDOWN or FIELD GOAL" and the team's name in electronic lettering moving left. Midway through 2004, the team logos were replaced with the abbreviations. This time, they were electronic lettering in the team's main color, and this was first seen on Major League Baseball on Fox postseason broadcasts that year. When team-specific information was displayed in the banner, such as the hang time of a punt or a touchdown, the abbreviation would change back to the team's logo. During the 2005 holiday season, for the week 15 Saturday game (Tampa Bay at New England), a new white banner, resembling a chrome finish and first introduced at the start of Fox's coverage of the 2005 World Series, debuted with animated snow accumulating on top. Periodically an animated snowplow would clear the screen of snow. The following week, the new banner was adopted for all games, however without the snow animation. The team abbreviations became white letters against the team's main color. This banner was used for Major League Baseball on Fox broadcasts through the 2007 season.

2006–2009

Logo used from 2006 - 2012.

The score banner was upgraded again for the 2006 season. It now features the real-time scores as a permanent fixture on the extreme right side of the bar, while the coloring of the banner changes to the colors of the team currently possessing the ball.

During playoff games and games featured on special days or holidays (such as the Thanksgiving Day series, AFC vs. NFC game), the scoring bar instead shows either the NFL Thanksgiving logo, the NFL Divisional Playoffs/NFC Championship logo, or a special banner celebrating whichever holiday falls during that week from Fox Sports (for instance, confetti and a party horn with a traditional Happy New Year message).

At the beginning of the 2006 season, a virtual on-field graphic showing an arrow pointing towards the direction of advancement and the down/yardage information began to be used on all plays. This feature was then added by the NFL on CBS, NBC Sunday Night Football, NFL Network's Run to the Playoffs and (beginning with the 2008 season) ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcasts. At the same time, the down/yardage information also displays on the scoring banner, resulting in duplicate presentation of the same information. The bar has also been enhanced for HDTV and is thinner than previous versions, with little transparency. Also, the NFL on Fox logo is on the far left instead of the far right. On the HDTV broadcasts, the area above the banner features a translucent slanting pattern going from left-to-right across the screen. During the 2006 preseason telecasts, the quarter was indicated by illuminating four buttons (number of buttons lit indicated the quarter), but due to visibility difficulties, the quarter returned to being numerically represented for the regular season.

On rare occasion during a game in which the field lines are not visible (such as those dealing with snow or rain), a small bug pops up on the bottom left side of the screen with the logo of the team who currently has possession as well as text indicating where the ball is (e.g. Arizona-Own 41 Yard Line.)

Most recently, scores from other NFL games that appear on the right side of the banner would have an arrow indicating which team had the ball, as of November 15, 2009. When the arrow is red, it means that the team is at the redzone. Fox's NFL telecasts were the only major NFL telecasts to have no timeout indicators until the 2010 season (see "2010–2013" below for more), save for the number of timeouts that each team has on the right side of the banner.

December 31, 2006 San Francisco/Denver game

There was one exception to this package for the 2006 season, as Fox had to revert to the then-current Fox Sports Net (and former main Fox Sports) scoring banner and graphics package for its final regular season game of the year, San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos on December 31, 2006, due to a second blizzard in a week hitting Denver, preventing the usual amount of equipment for Fox's NFL coverage to arrive before the game. FSN Rocky Mountain (Denver's FSN network) assisted in the production of the game on short notice by providing the graphical production and other production services. Also, the "1st & Ten" graphic lines denoting the line of scrimmage and first down line were unavailable for this broadcast. This graphic was also used in Week 5 of the 2007 season in a game between the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams.

2010–2013

Fox's new graphics package for NFL games debuted during a pre-season game on August 19, 2010, as Fox began to broadcast their sports programming with graphics optimized for 16:9 displays rather than the 4:3 safe area and the network has asked cable and satellite providers to comply and use the #10 Active Format Description code they now send out over Fox programming, which has 16:9 content display in letterboxed mode on 4:3 screens (or to most viewers, the regular analog channel on their system), in concert with Fox's news operations also going to full widescreen presentation. This was promoted in that first game by the Fox broadcast team as giving a 'widescreen viewing experience' to standard definition viewers, using the usual examples of more video information on the screen to demonstrate the new presentation (such as two cheerleaders off to the side displayed in a widescreen shot, but cut out of a 4:3 shot)

The graphics package is an upgraded version of the 2006 design with a "much more colorful 3D look", implemented using a new infrastructure using products developed by Vizrt, which would also be rolled out to other Fox Sports networks in the following months. The score banner previously used was replaced by an unconventional Fox Box-styled layout, positioned in the top left corner of the screen, with team logos and scores on either side, lights indicating timeouts on the side rims, with the play clock and quarter positioned in the center. Initially, the play clock also appeared within the center area with 10 seconds remaining, sliding the time remaining in the quarter up. However, the play clock indicator was soon moved to the bar sliding out of the bottom to show downage.

Due to issues with some cable providers and Fox affiliates (particularly those carried by digital subchannels or low power analog television stations) in implementing the AFD #10 widescreen mode, or for other broadcasters that still broadcast with content framed for 4:3 displays instead of defaulting to 16:9 like Fox (such as CBS and NBC, along with ESPN and NFL Network until they too switched to 16:9 with letterboxed SD feeds), feeds of Fox's NFL games have been offered with graphics positioned for 4:3 displays instead of 16:9, and in most cases, only one game per week was broadcast with 16:9 graphics.

Small tweaks were made for the 2011 season, including the timeout indicators counting upward instead of downward, and the possession indicator now appearing alongside the team that currently has the ball. Additionally, the scoreboard next to the Fox Sports bug for out-of-town games was replaced by a traditional ticker. The bug was made slightly smaller and rounder as well.

On Thanksgiving, the FoxBox is featured with digitally animated falling leaves falling on it. During the last two weeks of December, in observance of the Christmas and holiday season, the FoxBox is featured with falling snow piling on top, and the timeout indicators changed to resemble strings of Christmas lights.

After two years of using the unconventional layout, for 2012, a more traditional FoxBox was introduced; team abbreviations are stacked on the left side of the box, on the team's primary color, with timeout lights positioned underneath each team abbreviation, and a possession indicator to the left of it. The clock/quarter indicator is on the right side. Down and distance pops out of the bottom, while the timeout/penalty/touchdown animation is the same as in the unconventional design of the previous two seasons.

Also for 2012, Fox has added Spanish play-by-play commentary of all games to the secondary audio program channel.

For the 2013 Holidays, Christmas lights made a return to the FoxBox along the sides of the graphic, but they no longer correspond to timeouts. When a team scores, calls timeout or gets called for a penalty, the lights change from red, green and blue to the corresponding team's color for the duration of the graphic, before returning to normal.

2014-

For the 2014 season, the graphics changed to match those that had previously been introduced on the network's MLB and NASCAR coverage. The graphics package itself is similar to the previous look, however it is more boxy, and the fonts used are more round and have less of an athletic appearance than previous Fox looks.

The layout of the score box is essentially a mirror image of the already-introduced MLB graphic, except that the NFL version (which itself is very similar to the unconventional design from 2010 & 2011) is on the top-left of the screen, while the baseball version is on the bottom-left. Like the MLB graphic, the box has two components: a main box and a dynamic strip. The main box contains the team abbreviations, stacked on top of the team scores. The possession indicator is a line above the team holding the ball. Timeout indicators, which are counting downward (like in 2010), are stacked next to the scores.

The dynamic strip normally shows the next down that will occur, such as "3rd Down". It changes to show down and distance and the play clock, and turns yellow if a flag is thrown.

When a score occurs, the dynamic strip disappears and the main box changes to show the logo of the team scoring, along with the type of score. For a penalty, the main box shows the logo of the offending team, while the dynamic strip turns yellow and displays the type of penalty. When a timeout is called, the dynamic strip turns to the color of the team taking the timeout and displays "Timeout", while the main box displays the team's logo over a neutral gray background. The timeout/penalty/touchdown animation graphic mirrors the 2010-2013 design.

TV ratings

The NFL on Fox booth at Candlestick Park during a game on November 16, 2008. Matt Vasgersian and J.C. Pearson are calling the game.

Fox NFL Sunday had been the ratings leader among network pregame coverage from the time of its debut in 1994 (as, at the time, it was the only network pregame show to air for one hour prior to kickoff). In 2006, however, CBS' The NFL Today overtook the Fox pregame in the ratings. The swing in ratings was said to be correlated with the move of Fox NFL Sunday host James Brown back to CBS, where he had been broadcasting before his jump to Fox in 1994.

Fox's 2008 telecast of Super Bowl XLII was the 2nd most watched Super Bowl (Giants vs. Patriots) in history, with 97.5 million viewers. It was also the second-most-watched TV program behind the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale. Coincidentally, the Phoenix area hosted Super Bowl XXX (which aired on NBC), the third most viewed Super Bowl in NFL history, with 95.1 million viewers, in 1996.

With an average US audience of 111 million viewers, Super Bowl XLV became the most-watched Super Bowl as well as the most-watched program of any kind in American television history, beating the previous record of 106.5 million viewers for Super Bowl XLIV. An estimated 162.9 million total viewers watched all or part of the game. The game drew a national household Nielsen rating of 46.0 and a 69 share. It drew a 59.7 local rating in both Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, the second-highest local rating for a Super Bowl after the 63.0 that Super Bowl XX drew in Chicago. In the host market of Dallas-Ft. Worth-Denton, the game drew a 53.7 rating.

TV Season Averages

• 2003:
• 2004:
• 2007:
• 2008:
• 2009: 16.827 million (Post Gun; 8 airings)
• 2010:
• 2011:
• 2012:
• 2013:

2013 TV season

• October 13, 2013: 4:31pm to 7:40pm [New Orleans/New England; Arizona/San Francisco] HH: 15.8; Viewers: 26.736 million (Post-Gun; HH: 13.0; Viewers: 22.222 million)
• October 2013:

Commentators

In-studio personalities

Main article: Fox NFL Sunday § Full list of on-air staff

In-game commentators (past & present)

Further information: List of NFL on Fox announcers and List of NFL on Fox commentator pairings

References

Further reading

• Pierce, David (November 25, 2013). "Any given Sunday: inside the chaos and spectacle of the NFL on Fox". The Verge.

External links

• FoxSports.com – NFL on Foxsports.com
• Fox brought TV to new level
• FoxSports.com NFL Sunday announces new host
• Who is the Host?
• NFL on Fox at IMDb
• Sports Media Watch: NFL on Fox