NBC tried out a new camera angle for the entirety of Thursday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Tennessee Titans game, and let’s just say that Brent Musburger is not a fan.
Musburger, a longtime sportscaster who retired earlier this year, took aim at NBC’s use of the “SkyCam” on “Thursday Night Football” with a tweet sent after the game.
“Yo NBC sports. Great job on intimate portrait of Steelers’ game. Casual fans don’t give a s— where the safeties are positioned. Ratings are tied to fans, not future coaches,” Musburger tweeted (edited for profanity).
The 78-year-old called games for ABC/ESPN from 1990 until early this year. Prior to that he was a longtime CBS broadcaster. Both networks used the traditional sideline camera angle for football games.
The feedback on the SkyCam has been mixed. NBC used the angle extensively out of necessity while airing a Patriots-Falcons game because the heavy fog made it difficult to see the field from the far away angles. The response was positive then, which led NBC to use it more last week, and then to use it for the entire game on Thursday night.
I definitely do not prefer the SkyCam as my primary angle for viewing games because it’s tougher to see the entire field and judge distances. However, it’s nice as a secondary view on replays because you can see things like line play and blitzes much better.
