NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts since 1956 (with the exception of a break from 1994 to 1997). From 2014 to 2017, CBS also broadcast Thursday Night Football games during the first half of the NFL season, through a production partnership with NFL Network.
NFL on CBS
See NFL on CBS music
United States
English
64 (through 2023 season)
6,133
Various NFL stadiums (game telecasts and playoff pregame/postgame shows)
CBS Broadcast Center, New York City (studio segments, pregame and postgame shows)
210 minutes or until game ends
CBS
Nickelodeon (2021–present)
Paramount+ (2021–present)
September 30, 1956 –
January 23, 1994
September 6, 1998 –
present
Digital on-screen graphics[edit]
1992–1993[edit]
CBS Sports debuted on-screen graphics (as opposed to simple text) for its event telecasts in 1991. These graphics used a small score graphic that contained the score and game clock, which was removed during plays. The graphics were gray, beveled edged rectangles, with logos shown in a beveled edged square.
1998–2000[edit]
From 1998[120] to 2000,[121] the scoring bug had a half-capsule shape where the score was displayed in white text on a blue background (that contained the CBS eye), below the quarter and time in black text on a white background. The down and distance would pop out from the bottom of the bug in a white box when necessary; it would spin around to show the number of timeouts left. The standard graphics were blue, and individual team graphics were colored according to the team. When a team scores, there were no special effects; it changes instantaneously.
2001[edit]
Starting in Super Bowl XXXV,[122] the bug took on a more rectangular shape, with the score and quarter/time positions flipped. The scores were now displayed in white text against a gold background, and the quarter and time beneath them in a white text on a blue background. The down and distance and ball location popped out in two separate boxes underneath the main bug. New this season, the bug is situated on the left or right of the screen depending on which team has possession. The team-specific colors for graphics were dropped, and would not be used again by CBS until 2013.
2002–2005[edit]
In 2002, a new bug with more of a horizontal orientation was introduced. The CBS Sports logo that previously adorned the top of the bug was replaced with the CBS "eye" logo in blue and white. The bug was divided into two rectangles, the left one housing the time and quarter and the right the teams and scores, all in white text on blue. As in years past, the down and distance were contained in a pop-out box, also in the blue and white scheme.
In 2002, the graphics package itself remained the same as in 2000 and 2001. However, the look was updated in 2003[123][124] to more closely match the design of the score box. In 2004 and 2005, the top two games each week were presented in high definition. These HD broadcasts used a score box optimized for the 16:9 frame, the first time that a U.S. network had used graphics optimized for high definition.
In Week 3 of the 2004 season, CBS unveiled a constant scoring update bar on the bottom of the screen (the first of its kind). This was initially called "Game Trax", and complimented "Stat Trax", unveiled the year before which was the first system to show player statistics updates popping out of the score display after a play (now standard on all networks).
2006–2008[edit]
The 2006 season introduced a new graphics package[125] for The NFL on CBS, including a new logo (which also formed the base of SEC college football[126] and NCAA college basketball logos) and new NFL Today studio set, as part of a network-wide overhaul of the graphics package. The digital on-screen graphics were also changed, with red and a light shade of blue introduced from the new logo. A more complex scoring bug included the new NFL on CBS logo and six circle segments stacked in columns of two emanating from the logo. The first two featured the quarter and time, the next two the team abbreviations (all in white text on the darker blue) and the last two each team's respective scores in black text on a white background. The entire bug was trimmed in the red and lighter blue; the down and distance pop-out changed to a half-ellipse shape.
When a team scores a touchdown, the columns that emanate from the logo collapse into the logo. The logo then quickly spins around to show the scoring team's logo, a full bar the shape of the combined boxes quickly protruding showing the word "TOUCHDOWN", with the bug sparkling. After about three or four seconds of this graphic showing, the aforementioned animation takes place once more, this time with the bug returning to normal. In all instances of points scored, the changed score flashes a few times to indicate a change in score, with a touchdown score changing after the "TOUCHDOWN" graphic is shown. Notably, this score box was not optimized for high definition as the previous package was, even on HD games.
2009–2012[edit]
In 2009,[127] the score bug was changed to a top-screen banner, although the graphics package used from 2006 remained the same. This bug featured, horizontally left-to-right, the CBS "eye" logo, the down and distance against a white background, each team's logo, initials and points, and then the quarter and remaining time. When the down and distance was not displayed, that and the CBS "eye" logo were replaced by a blue and red "NFL on CBS" logo. When there was a penalty, the word "FLAG" replaced the down and distance on a yellow background, with the penalty description dropping down from below the team's initials; when there is an official review, the down and distance would be replaced by "OFFICIAL REVIEW" on a red background. For challenges, a drop-down below the teams initials with a dark red background shows with the word "CHALLENGE." The play clock would flash red when it hit the 5-second mark and stays red until the play clock is reset. When a team scored a touchdown, the entire bar would change, displaying the scoring team's logo on the left and the team's main color as the background, with the word "TOUCHDOWN" with the letter spacing widening for a few moments before returning to normal. After such, the team's score will be highlighted their color, and the previous score will be replaced by the new score (this also happens when the team's PAT or 2-point conversion is ruled to be good). After this occurs, stats of players involved immediately appear in the bottom of the banner.
A small white indicator showed on the top of the bar, on top of whatever team currently had possession of the ball. At times, at the bottom of the bar, various player statistics (such as quarterback ratings), game stats (such as drive summaries), and situational issues in the game (such as amount of timeouts remaining), would pop open for a few moments whenever it is needed. For Week 3 of the 2009 season, the possession indicator was changed to a small dot next to the team's logo due to the addition of timeout indicators across the top.
Beginning with the NCAA football season in September 2011, college football broadcasts on CBS and the CBS Sports Network began using a scoring bug mirroring this one. CBS Sports Network's United Football League coverage in 2012 also used the same graphics package.
2013–2015[edit]
CBS debuted a new graphics package[128] starting with the network's coverage of Super Bowl XLVII;[129] the package was used for all CBS game telecasts beginning with the 2013 season.[130] Originally optimized for a 4:3 display, the elements are now optimized for the 16:9 format as a result of the network's incorporation of the AFD #10 broadcast tag.
The lower third graphics adopt the column layout for player info graphics[131] used by several other sports broadcasters. The portion containing the player's name is stacked on the left, with the team's primary color in the background of the name panel. Other statistics are shown on a gray background on panels to the right. The score banner is gray with team abbreviations listed over their primary color and next to their logo. For Sunday game broadcasts, the NFL on CBS logo is placed on the left; the "NFL" portion disappears and is replaced by the down and distance, "Flag", or "Official Review". Also for the Sunday broadcasts, challenges and statistics drop down from the bar. The only scoring play which used an animation is a touchdown, which involves the team logo and the word "Touchdown" appearing in place of the banner. Timeout indicators are located above the team abbreviations for Sunday broadcasts, and a possession indicator is located to the right of the abbreviation.
Since the network began airing the evening games in 2014,[132] Thursday Night Football games use a package with the usual CBS curved-edged graphics, however incorporating a generic "TNF" logo in lower thirds instead of the CBS logo because Thursday broadcasts also air on the NFL Network. A "TNF" text logo is also used in the border of full screen graphics where the "NFL on CBS" text is usually seen. The score bar is located on the bottom of the screen instead of the top, with the "NFL on CBS" text replaced by a "CBS TNF" mark, and the "TNF" portion disappearing to show down and distance. The usual play clock location is instead home to an NFL Network logo, with the play clock moved next to the game clock for Thursdays only. Any information that drops down from the bar on Sundays instead pops up from the bar on the Thursday broadcasts, with timeout indicators flipped to the bottom.
For the London NFL International Series game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars live-streamed on Yahoo in 2015, all silver "CBS" marks in the graphics package were replaced by purple "Yahoo" logos and the NFL logo. The game used the top-screen version of the scoring banner. The UK broadcast on Sky Sports featured no Yahoo or CBS logos, leaving only the NFL logo, while the BBC Two broadcast was a clean feed using the regular BBC Sport graphics package used for Rugby coverage.
2016–2020[edit]
During Super Bowl 50, CBS unveiled a major rebranding of the CBS Sports division, including a new logo and on-air graphics—moving its scoreboard to the bottom of the screen, and using outlined, rectangular graphics with a steel blue base and use of gradients.[133] Beginning with Week 6 of the 2017 NFL season, the records for each team were displayed to the right of the timeout indicators. The records are not displayed during the playoffs and the first week of the regular season. Beginning with Super Bowl LIII and the subsequent 2019 season, the scoreboard received minor updates to elements such as its play clock (with its red background beginning to drain with five seconds remaining). A significantly different graphics scheme was used for Thursday Night Football games.
The Nickelodeon simulcasts on January 10, 2021, and January 16, 2022, featured various Nickelodeon-themed effects and features designed to appeal to the youth audience, with this template used as its basis. Various augmented reality graphics were employed, including the first down line being rendered in orange with animated green "slime" rather in yellow, as well as the end zone pylons becoming virtual "slime cannons" on touchdowns (dubbed the "Slime Zone") (both in keeping with the network's long tradition of green slime), the net behind the uprights on field goal attempts being rendered as the face of SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star, and replays edited to include "Snapchat-like" filters such as hats, googly eyes, and Nickelodeon characters.[110][112][134][135] During the halftime show, 3D animated recreations of highlights with Minecraft-like "Blockie" players were featured, generated using data from the NFL Next Gen Stats system.[136]
During Week 13 of the 2020 season, the game between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles was used as a rehearsal to test the effects and workflows for the Nickelodeon broadcast. Eight dedicated cameras were used to augment those being shared with the main CBS production, in order to provide camera angles optimized for the augmented reality effects (such as a wider end zone view for the "slime cannon").
2021–present[edit]
CBS Sports unveiled a new graphics package during Super Bowl LV, as part of a wider rebranding of the CBS Sports division to comply with the network's new corporate identity (including extensive use of the CBS eye as a visual motif). The insert graphics maintain a similar overall structure to the designs used since 2016, except being flat and black with no borders, and extensive use of the new CBS corporate font.[133][137][138]
During the 2021 season, CBS introduced a new feature known as "RomoVision" in collaboration with Genius Sports and NFL Next Gen Stats, which displays a top-down overlay of the field with players represented by X and O symbols during selected replays to assist in visualizing plays. In 2022, the feature received a George Wensel Technical Achievement Award at the Sports Emmy Awards.[139]
During Super Bowl LVIII, CBS debuted an updated scoreboard, returning to a gradient-based appearance with revised typography, although the remainder of the graphics continued to follow the designs used since 2021.[140] Nickelodeon opted to keep the previous scoreboard design, which was first used in the 2022 Nickmas game, in order to match those in the main broadcast, on its alternate broadcast, this time being based on SpongeBob SquarePants.
Nielsen ratings[edit]
The Sunday afternoon, October 14, 2007, game between the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys on CBS, was viewed by 29.1 million people,[141] making it the most-watched NFL Sunday game since the Dallas Cowboys–San Francisco 49ers game on November 10, 1996 on Fox (29.7 million viewers), according to Nielsen Media Research data. The game was also the most-watched television program for the week of October 8–14, drawing nine million viewers more than the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (19.8 million viewers), and was the most-watched program of the season.
The November 4, 2007, broadcast of a game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts drew a 20.1 rating[142] and 33.8 million viewers for CBS.
During the 17-week 2008 season (September 4 – December 28, 2008), CBS' regular-season game telecasts were watched by an estimated cumulative audience of 150.9 million viewers, 14% higher than NBC's 132.4 million viewers, 3% higher than Fox's 146.9 million viewers, and 52% higher than ESPN's 99.4 million. The cumulative audience is based on the total number of viewers (persons 2+) who watched at least six minutes of NFL game coverage since the start of the 2008 regular season.
For the 2009 season, the network's regular-season telecasts averaged 19.509 million viewers (counting only seven airings during the season by Nielsen).[143] For the first thirteen weeks of the 2013 season, the CBS game telecasts averaged 26.5 million viewers.[144]
The February 11, 2024 broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII on CBS and Nickelodeon became the most watched telecast in U.S. television history, averaging a combined 123.7 million viewers.