Technology Innovation: American Sport Broadcasting

  • Experimental Telegraphed Broadcast

    Experimental Telegraphed Broadcast
    In 1911, about 1,000 people in Lawrence, Kansas witnessed a telegraphed broadcast of a Kansas vs. Missouri football game. The game was being played in Columbia, Missouri. A telegraph wire went from Columbia to Lawrence, and after every play, the announcers would recall what just happened, along with a model of the football field for visual representation.
  • The First Live Radio Broadcasts

    The First Live Radio Broadcasts
    In August, there was a live commentary of the Phillies vs. Pirates Baseball game in Pittsburgh. Later in October of that same year, The radio college football game was broadcast, with the teams being the University of Pittsburgh and the University of West Virginia.
  • Very First Live Radio Broadcast

    Almost 10 years after the telegraphed college football game, Florent Gibson of Pittsburgh's KDKA radio station was the commentator of a 10 round boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Johnny Ray in Motor Square Garden.
  • First Televised Sporting Event

    First Televised Sporting Event
    In 1939, the Princeton Loins and the Columbia Tigers' respective baseball teams had the honor of being the first teams to participate in a televised sporting event. However, only 400 televisions around the country were able to receive a signal from this game.
  • First Televised Sports Event with Color

    First Televised Sports Event with Color
    Baseball appears once again in one of the major events of sport broadcasting, with the Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Dodgers game being broadcast with color for the first time. The Dodgers beat the braves 8-1 that day, too.
  • On-Screen Graphics are Introduced

    On-Screen Graphics are Introduced
    Before the age of the graphics, Images and lettering were grainy and oversaturated. Then, the wording was matted over the game image, which was the early, basic version towards these new, fancy graphics.
  • ESPN Formed

    ESPN Formed
    ESPN Started as a basic cable channel that's only purpose was sports. As time went on, ESPN added more sports and segment to the channel. Now, it is a huge organization that expanded from just one channel to multiple minor channels, deals with sports leagues, and a news bureau.
  • Subscription Services Begin

    Subscription Services Begin
    The NFL began the NFL Sunday ticket, where you could watch any live game going on - whether it was on your local broadcast or not. This idea ended up making a lot of money for the league, and other sports leagues started to go on with the same idea.
  • NFL's First Down Line was Created

    NFL's First Down Line was Created
    In 1998, the NFL appeared once again in the technological revolution by creating the 1st and 10 line on for TV's. This was made to help the viewers follow the game easier. It was created by a company called Sportvision, and is created by hooking up cameras to a software that calibrates the camera with the field and "paints" the yellow line on the certain yard marker.
  • High Definition Quality is Introduced

    High Definition Quality is Introduced
    Super Bowl XXXIV (34) was the first major sporting event to be broadcast in HD. It was a good thing that if was broadcast this way too, because the game ended by just a few inches.