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When you watch the opening of the NFL Thursday season between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles, the game might look a bit more like Madden video game that's a traditional show. You can thank the new NBC channel for the SkyCam.
The network that brought you to Super Bowl 52 and Sunday night football extends its NFL coverage of the remote-controlled camera on the ground, known in the league as SkyCam. That means that much of NBC's 2018 football coverage will be shot a few feet above the gaming surface – and that the network will continue to show its third green zone to allow viewers to know where is the first marker.
What has pushed NBC to change angle of view?
NBC had already experimented with SkyCam heavy angles in two of its Thursday night football last fall – especially in another part of the Falcons. The heavy fog has made it difficult for traditional cameras in the stands and on the sidelines of week 7 of the Atlanta-New England showdown in 2017, threatening to leave viewers in the dark for a Super Bowl rematch.
Instead, NBC turned the camera off its main source, and the reviews were positive.
This led to another test – this time intentional. The tilt of Week 11 between the Steelers and Titans was the first case in which the SkyCam would be the main camera angle of NBC.
It worked well. When Sunday night football Executive producer Fred Gaudelli has reviewed the footage in preparation for the upcoming season, he "really liked the visceral feeling he brought to the viewers". The decision was therefore taken to rely on the wired camera for 2018.
What does this mean for viewers?
People listening to NBC shows on Sunday night (and Thanksgiving) will notice that more and more plays are taking place behind the quarter's point of view. The use of SkyCam offers viewers a unique viewing angle and the 22 cameras can not be captured from the upper deck. At best, it transforms the game from a standard viewing experience into a field perspective. For example, you see the roads and cover materialize in the same way as Ben Roethlisberger:
That does not mean that NBC Thursday night walkGames will be drawn only from SkyCam. There are limits to what the system can do:
- There is usually only one or two SkyCams covering the game on a given week.
- The ball always moves away from the camera at this angle and its flight area is limited.
- Two people use each SkyCam system: a pilot and an operator who controls the subtleties of the view, such as panning and panning. It is much more difficult to coordinate than a fixed camera.
- And, of course, a failure of the SkyCam perched directly above the field is much more important than a regular camera.
Despite these warnings, SkyCam will give NBC coverage a distinct look compared to FOX, CBS and NFL coverage. Time will tell if other broadcasters join them, or if this trend worsens in 2018 – but considering the early results, we can probably expect more camera angles just above the pocket.
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