Super Bowl critics ask: why did CBS leave TV viewers in the dark?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/04/super-bowl-cbs-power-outage

Version 0 of 1.

With a little over 13 minutes left of the third quarter of the Super Bowl, the lights went out at the Superdome in New Orleans – and millions of television viewers were left in the dark as CBS correspondents kept mum. The power failure opened up CBS to criticism from other sports journalists who felt the network – which has exclusive rights to air the Super Bowl – made several lapses in editorial judgment in an effort to keep the NFL on side.

Here's a selection of the sharpest criticism:

<strong>Bob Raissman, New York Daily News</strong>

At a time when they should have been aggressively gathering news, CBS' crew was satisfied with the crumbs the NFL dropped on them. And they swallowed the scraps gladly. Not once during the 34-minute delay did a representative of the National Football League appear on camera to attempt to explain what caused half the Superdome to lose power. Why should they? No one from CBS put any pressure on them.

<strong>Will Leitch, Sports On Earth</strong>

Obviously, CBS couldn't have anticipated power suddenly going out in the press box, and the mics of Phil Simms and Jim Nantz being shut off – it's not exactly the type of thing you put together a plan for in prep – but never has the vapidity of NFL commentators been more painfully in evidence. It is amazing, in the year 2013, that these are the people who are paid to talk live on television. That's their job. Professionally.

<strong>Tom Jones, Tampa Bay Times</strong>

CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLVII opened with one of the best Super Bowl openings ever, as the legendary Joe Namath and others asked you if you remember the best day of your life.

Unfortunately, it was the highlight of CBS's game coverage, which was not the best day in the network's life. The broadcast was bland and, worse, left viewers craving more – more replays, analysis and information.

<strong>David Zurawik, The Baltimore Sun</strong>

The network's pre-game show was overproduced and under-imagined, with no unifying vision. One segment that found Boomer Esiason and Shannon Sharpe walking the streets of New Orleans handing out Pizza Hut pizzas to people willing to yell "Hut, Hut, Hut," set a new low in debasing broadcasters and turning what is already an over-commercialized production into a non-stop advertisement.

<strong>Michael Hiestand, USA Today</strong><br />

Before the biggest malfunction on the most-watched show all year on US TV, CBS's Super Bowl coverage could be summed up pretty simply: it was safe.

And then, what had already seemed like a dimly lit set for the big show – it almost seemed like CBS'a half-time show was in the dark – turned into an understandably desperate plea by the network for tens of millions of viewers to stay tuned during a 33-minute power outage of what had been one-sided game.