For more than 30 years, ESPN has been telling sports fans to look at the bottom of the television screen. Now it wants us to stop.
Beginning this college football season, ESPN is eliminating its famous BottomLine during live games across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ACC Network and SEC Network. The endless crawl of scores, news and schedules that became almost as identifiable with ESPN as Chris Berman’s nicknames and the SportsCenter theme is disappearing from college football Saturdays.
I wonder if it’s also creating another reason for me to stare at my phone.
That’s the fascinating part of this decision. ESPN is essentially acknowledging that one of the most recognizable inventions in sports television has been replaced by the thing constantly in your hand.
Different Viewer Expectation
The BottomLine arrived in 1995, when it solved a problem. If you were watching Florida-Georgia and wanted to know what was happening in Michigan-Ohio State, you couldn’t grab your iPhone. Also, there was no iPhone. Moreover, you waited for ESPN to tell you.
The ticker was our sports internet before we really had a sports internet.
Visually, I’m with ESPN. Watch a major game without a crawl and then watch one with it. The difference is noticeable. The screen feels bigger and cleaner. The football game gets to be the football game instead of sharing space with Toledo 31, Bowling Green 17.
ESPN has already experimented with the approach during College Football Playoff games and other major events, including NBA and NHL postseason games. Now it’s extending the philosophy across its regular-season college football inventory.
One issue: College football is the sport where I might miss the BottomLine the most.
A random NBA Tuesday night isn’t the same as 2:47 p.m. on a college football Saturday, when dozens of games are happening simultaneously. Part of the fun is knowing what’s happening everywhere. You’re watching Alabama, but suddenly the ticker tells you Appalachian State is tied with the No. 8 team in the country with four minutes left.
Now what? Keep watching? Change channels or grab the phone?
Why The Shift?
That’s where ESPN’s cleaner-screen experiment gets interesting. We’ve spent years complaining that everyone watches television with a second screen. Broadcasters want our attention. Leagues want our attention. Advertisers definitely want our attention. Now the television is essentially telling us: For the rest of the scores, check your phone.
Good luck getting me back. Because once I’m there, I’m not just checking Clemson-Florida State. There’s a text. Then X and Instagram. Then fantasy, plus I remember I haven’t checked my bet yet.
Which brings us to gambling.
Sports betting has completely changed the way many fans consume games. A Washington Post analysis of 50 hours of televised sports found gambling references throughout broadcasts. That includes betting odds incorporated into ESPN tickers. So there’s another unintended consequence worth considering.
If the BottomLine disappears and I’m holding my phone more often, am I paying more attention to the football game? Or more attention to my bets?
That’s the great contradiction. ESPN is removing information from the screen to improve our focus at the exact moment sports fans have more information available than at any point in history.
Maybe that’s precisely why ESPN is right. We’ve reached information overload.
Score bug. Win probability. Fantasy stats. Betting odds. QR codes. Promotions. Upcoming programming. Breaking news. Sponsored graphics. Social media handles.
At some point, you need to actually see the football field.
ESPN isn’t completely abandoning scores. The network plans periodic score alerts during quarters, which might be the perfect compromise. Tell me when something important is happening instead of continuously feeding me every score from every game.
Maybe the BottomLine belongs to a different era, one I admittedly loved. There was something comforting about turning on ESPN and seeing that ticker crawling across the bottom. It told you that you were plugged into the sports world. Today, the sports world isn’t waiting at the bottom of our television anymore.
It’s in our pocket.
So, I’ll give ESPN credit. College football probably will look better this fall. I’ll enjoy the bigger picture and the cleaner screen. I’ll focus completely on the game in front of me.
Right after I check my phone to see the score of the other one.
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With decades of experience behind the mic, John Lund is more than a sports commentator and weekly columnist for Barrett Media—he’s a storyteller, humorist, and true fan. He’s hosted shows in mid sized markets like Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City to larger cities like San Francisco, Detroit and Dallas. John has even hosted nationally on ESPN Radio. Known for his sharp wit and deep sports knowledge, John welcomes your feedback. Reach him on X @JohnLundRadio or by email at John@JohnLundRadio.com.