One of the most influential inventions in broadcast television is the yellow first down line in American football. Before the first down line's invention in 1998 the NFL was considered the most difficult major sport to watch on television because other than the endzone the offense's objectives were impossible for television audiences to comprehend. Outside of diehard football fans, NFL and College football telecasts fell far behind the MLB and NBA in television ratings because basketball's electric dunks and celebrity athletes and baseball's isolated pitcher batter interaction were much easier to convey with television technology at the time. It was not until the yellow first down line became possible that college football and the NFL generated the monster television ratings and contracts seen today. Although rule changes and high definition television have also contributed to the increase in the popularity of televised football, the invention of the yellow first down line has proved to be the simplest improvement that wildly increased the popularity of televised football and shaped American sports culture. With this website we hope to paint a better picture of the design decisions that went into the creation of the yellow first down marker and its substantial impact televised football and American sports culture as a whole.
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