1st & Ten (graphics System) - Conception

Conception

The idea of creating an on-field marker to help TV viewers identify 1st down distances was conceived and patented in 1978 by David W. Crain, who presented the concept to Roone Arledge and Roger Goodman of ABC News and Sports and to the CBS Technology Center. At the time, both decided the broadcast industry was not ready to use Crain's invention. In 1998, ESPN Programmer Gary Morgenstern and others, revived the idea. ESPN's NFL Coordinating Producer, Fred Gaudelli was tasked with overseeing an implementation for their network. The 1st & Ten line was first broadcast by Sportvision, a private company, during ESPN's coverage of a Bengals-Ravens game on September 27, 1998. A few weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, 1998 (October 12), Princeton Video Image (PVI) aired their version of the virtual yellow down line on a CBS broadcast of a Pittsburgh Steelers - Detroit Lions game. Four years later, SportsMEDIA introduced a third version during NBC coverage of a Notre Dame game.

The rivalry between PVI and Sportvision began with a collaboration. In July 1995 PVI had successfully used their L-VIS (Live Video Insertion System) match moving technology to broadcast virtual advertising behind the home plate on a local broadcast of a Trenton Thunder baseball game in Trenton, NJ. In January 1996, Roy Rosser, Director of Special Projects at PVI saw SportsVision's FoxTrax puck on the broadcast of the 1996 NHL All-Star Game and realized that a combination of L-VIS and FoxTrax would allow virtual insertions in a wider range of situations than either could do on their own, given the then power of affordable computers. He contacted Stan Honey, CTO at Sportsvision, and the two companies undertook a joint demonstration of their combined technologies during the 1996 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees at the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. The test was not a success and the two companies parted ways, each developing complementary systems that were eventually used to broadcast Sportsvision’s “First and Ten” line and PVI’s “Yellow Down Line”. In October 1999, SportVision sued PVI alleging that PVI's virtual signage, first down line, and other products infringed Fox/Sportvision patents. In August 2001, PVI counterclaimed against Sportvision in the Federal Court action, alleging that Sportvision's virtual strike zone and virtual signage products infringed a PVI patent. In 2002, the companies settled the law suits out of court through a cross-licensing deal.