NFL officials have known for years that they're producing TV shows as much as providing games, and the latest testament to that was tests by Fox Sports to incorporate music into the broadcasts.
Not music as the broadcasts go to commercial. We already have that.
Not music when graphics appear on the screen as an extra way to grab viewers' attention, either. We already have that, too.
Instead, Fox Sports tested an approach for last week's Arizona Cardinals-Carolina Panthers game during which music cuts that were determined to match the shots on the screen were part of the broadcast. According to USA Today, the network had 15 audio clips from the composer of the music for "CSI" ready for the game. Also, clips from popular artists could be a possibility as they network continues to test the approach.
Unfortunately, the trial balloon that lifted off last week might even pop up on Super Bowl coverage.
If so, that would be a shame. But Eric Shanks, the 38-year-old who was put in charge of Fox Sports seven month ago, seems set on the approach. When talking to USA Today, he compared the musical options on sports broadcasts to providing the musical score for a movie as it happens.
Again, that's the problem. It's a sports broadcast -- not a movie, and not a video game. The folks working the game are directors and producers, not composers.
More and more, though, broadcasters seek to reach a younger demographic that's familiar with video games by making the games themselves look and feel like video games. Earlier examples of that have been different camera angles during live action that often seem ill-conceived or unusual to viewers. And the music represents the next step in that approach.
It's also a step toward how broadcasts will change -- for those watching and even for those behind the scenes.