It’s hard to imagine watching a broadcast football game (or really any televised sport) without instant replay. We’ve become so used to it that some of us miss it when we’re watching live sports. The father of media theory and analysis, Marshall McLuhan, credited instant replay as the thing that elevated broadcast football to its own form of entertainment beyond just being a replacement for owning season tickets, into an experience you could only have through television.
Where’d it Come From?
The Canadians get the “first” credit for instant replay in 1955.
This was quite a feat on their part since this was before broadcast videotape was really in use. In the 50’s, all TV was live only even though Bing Crosby had pushed for the development of broadcast videotape as early as 1951, it still “wasn’t ready for prime time.”
So how did the Canadians do it? The same way all live TV was recorded back in the day, they set up a black and white motion picture camera in front of a monitor and recorded the show (a process called “Kinescope”) They quickly developed the black and white film, projected it and aimed a live studio camera at the screen to broadcast the projection. Ok, so maybe that’s “almost instant replay.” You can see why no one else did it for eight more years.
By 1963, videotape was moving into broadcast. CBS’ Tony Verna hacked a studio videotape deck to provide the first US broadcast of an instant replay for the winning touchdown of the Army-Navy Game of December 7th. CBS actually tried a few other times during the game as well, but only got it to work for that final one.
Two years later, it became possible for analog disc systems to record broadcast video and play it back and the first commercial systems went on sale starting in 1967. They could also do freeze-frame. After that the video effects that are now an integral part of broadcast sports came fast and furious. With today’s digital video capabilities, almost anything is possible.
Slow Adoption by Sports for Judging
In 1970 FIFA (that organization in charge of the “other” football) asked broadcasters not to use slo-mo saying that mistakes were part of the game and should be “defended.” In some sense it’s a strange attitude when you consider that the Olympics started using the photo finish for races in 1912 and horse racing followed in 1936. That said, it took over 30 years from 1963’s video replay to the NFL’s system to “challenge” calls in 1999. Most major broadcast sports began allowing it in the last decade or so, starting with the NFL in 1999. Still a hold out, FIFA is finally testing systems through March 2012 for possible implementation.
Better Than the “Real Thing?”
While there’s still nothing like watching a game from the 50-yard line, today Marshal Mcluhan’s assessment is truer than ever. NFL broadcasts are an experience unto themselves, almost a completely different viewing experience and one that stands on it’s own. Now, if I can only get instant replay for the Super Bowl commercials, life will be perfect.
Stephen Jacobs has written on technology and entertainment for almost 25 years. His work has appeared in old school publications like Videomaker, Washington Post’s Fast Forward, Television Business International and Television 2.0 and in new tech venues like Wired and CNET. He’s currently a professor of Video Game Design and Development at RIT
