From a production standpoint, live television is never easy. There are so many moving parts that mistakes are bound to happen at some point. But there are mistakes that absolutely cannot happen, and ABC/ESPN’s NBA playoffs coverage made such an error on Sunday.
As Game 1 of the Miami Heat’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden went into halftime, the ABC broadcast cut to B-roll footage of New York and the Statue of Liberty. It was supposed to be one of those scenic, on-location shots that are typical for literally every sports broadcast. Except, in this shot, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were visible in the frame.
This did in fact air on ABC. https://t.co/hsDSYXQUg6 pic.twitter.com/mnOFk8hvrd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 30, 2023
Like, how does that mistake even happen? A producer or someone in the truck should have noticed that they were queuing up pre-9/11 footage before it ever went live. But also, why does ABC/ESPN even have pre-9/11 footage of New York in its system for use?
Networks often recycle scenic shots of cities for use in multiple broadcasts. Yet, this is New York. There have been countless times that ESPN’s filmed the city from overhead. They really couldn’t have found a shot of New York from the past 10 years?
Fox made a similar blunder when it superimposed Red Sox and Yankees logos over the 9/11 memorial last year. Just as we saw with Fox, fans weren’t thrilled with ABC/ESPN’s carelessness on Sunday.
Update: ESPN apologized for the error.
This has been updated with ESPN's statement, saying "We mistakenly used an old stock image and we apologize." https://t.co/02kXobyIBy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 30, 2023
This was how Twitter reacted
How do you…what? https://t.co/B3XHcg49Wo
— Vic Damone Jr (@wholesomefoxx) April 30, 2023
OH MY GOD https://t.co/lnCWYZaCb5
— Unmistakable Latin Flavor (@PBSImpulse9) April 30, 2023
As some one who used to make these bumps as part of their job I don’t have words to describe how unacceptable this is. Zero excuses. https://t.co/UzNIj8X4XA
— Nicole Masterson (@nicoledimtsios) April 30, 2023
OMG GOD!!! How does this air https://t.co/bmx8revKNT
— Dan Petriw 🇺🇦🇮🇪 (@DanDanNoodles78) April 30, 2023
Yikes.. https://t.co/O2n9UnuoQJ
— Nedum's Interior Decorator (@j_rymes11) April 30, 2023
Man what the hell? https://t.co/dxpH1Bov4m
— Craig (@_itsalwayscraig) April 30, 2023
Seems like it’d be impossible for this to be an innocent mistake considering that this stock footage obviously predates HD/4K. https://t.co/gd5tWTOOrm
— TCB (@TenCentBeers) April 30, 2023
B roll is always canned stuff but wow. https://t.co/sDjDC30XXi
— Joel Gasson (@JGasson_21) April 30, 2023
This is inexcusable. https://t.co/ngrmCb5CtC
— Megan (@megamurph22) April 30, 2023
What in the actual (BLEEP)! https://t.co/DBtDIfWTve
— Al Guraieb (@alguraieb) April 30, 2023
Yeah that’s a fireable offense https://t.co/Ke1WTV0hjS
— George W (@GeorgeRW1981) April 30, 2023
How did this happened? Did anyone pay attention? https://t.co/6qdkHddF8R
— Robert Hollins (@senatorhollins) April 30, 2023
There’s no acceptable excuse for that.
