The Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans will be sort of a guinea pig for a concept that’s been used out of necessity the past few weeks. Next Thursday, NBC will use the Skycam angle as their primary shot, they announced today.
NBC to Present Live Play-By-Play Coverage from SkyCam For Thursday Night Football on Nov. 16 https://t.co/6mReaYRbSE
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) November 9, 2017
“After pivoting out of necessity to SkyCam in the New England fog, we’ve been aggressively planning and testing with the intent of utilizing the system for a full game,” said NBC executive producer Fred Gaudelli (a legend for anyone who pays attention to this stuff).
“Younger generations of NFL fans have grown accustomed to watching football from this angle through their love of video games. This telecast will have a look and feel akin to that experience. We’ll still have our full complement of cameras and will revert to traditional coverage when situations dictate, but the primary viewing experience of the game will come from the SkyCam angle. Thursday Night Football has always been about technical innovation and new technologies, and this production will fit perfectly with that.”
As he mentions, NBC has had to switch to the Skycam angle twice recently due to foggy weather that made it impossible to watch the game from an aerial view. For those unfamiliar, here’s what the Skycam angle looks like from an Ohio State/Notre Dame game last year.
This will give more of an “All-22” feel to each game and provide a much better look at the entire field. You’ll be able to watch blocking lanes unfold, route combinations, and coverages, with much less guesswork.
As the press release indicates, NBC will still use “traditional” camera angles when appropriate but this is an exciting time to be a football fan.
