Most of NFL Week 1 took place before Monday but, from the perspective of ESPN, the kick-off to the NFL season happened with a marquee match-up between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints. While much was made of the network’s misadventures with its broadcast team last year, there was optimism about the broadcast experience for 2019 but, while the commentary itself was sharply improved in the eyes of many, there was a controversial innovation during the first half.
In short, ESPN debuted a new down-and-distance graphic and, in baffling fashion, it was a very similar color to the traditional notification for a penalty flag on the previous play. As a result, there was immediate outcry from fans and media members alike.
.@espn please take this yellow-green down-and-distance color and throw it into the ocean. It looks like a flag pic.twitter.com/jNyMSY7kZA
— Riley McAtee (@RileyMcAtee) September 9, 2019
i'm sure this has been yelled about already, but why is the down marker thing the color of a flag
— Robby Kalland (@RKalland) September 9, 2019
"Wait, was there a flag on that play? Oh, no, ESPN just made the down and distance box the same color as a penalty flag."
–Me, 17 times already during this game.— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) September 9, 2019
RT this if you want @ESPN to change the color of the down and distance graphic on MNF.
We must stop this horrendous yellow penalty flag pump fake.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/LandryLocker/status/1171201842283458561
Initially, it appeared as if the worldwide leader might need a while to fix the maddening new “feature.”
I’m told from by a producer at a rival network that he doesn’t think ESPN will be able to change the yellow color in down and distance until next week.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) September 9, 2019
To ESPN’s credit, however, it didn’t take long, as the plug was pulled during halftime of the network’s first game.
Breaking: ESPN is switching away from the new Down-And-Distance graphic it debuted in the first half of Monday Night Football. ESPN heard the fans’ feedback and acted, quick.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 10, 2019
A formal announcement then followed, with PR head Bill Hofheimer indicating the network “called an audible” on the graphic.
Our ESPN production team is aware of the feedback on the #MNF down and distance graphic. We have called an audible and adjusted for the 2nd half of #HOUvsNO and for the #DENvsOAK game to follow. New look pictured here. pic.twitter.com/SWLKKuW87w
— bill hofheimer (@bhofheimer_espn) September 10, 2019
In the grand scheme, there wasn’t much in the way of actual harm done here and the confusion lasted less than two hours. Still, it calls into question the thought process behind using that one particular color in that location on the graphic and it will be interesting to see if ESPN, using the next week to reconstruct itself, tries something different for Week 2 and beyond.
