ESPN BottomLine

BottomLine is ESPN's lower third sports information ticker. It is uniform in design and used on all ESPN networks. It displays current sports scores, stats, and headlines in a 'push-then-scroll' format. It also serves as a display for urgent information, such as breaking sports news, breaking significant national news from ESPN sister network ABC, updated scores, a rain delay notification, or the move of a game from one ESPN network to another.

ESPN BottomLine used from August 19, 2018 to present.
ESPN BottomLine used from June 2014 to August 19, 2018.

On special occasions, a customized version of the ticker may be used; some examples are Pi day, in which a Pi symbol is placed next to the ESPN logo, and the 4th of July, when an American flag surrounds the ESPN logo.

History

SportsCenter debuted a new graphics package on April 6, 2009, with the "rundown" graphic (shown during the daytime editions) moved to the left side of the screen. A new BottomLine was also released that day on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, and ESPNU but it was quickly removed and reverted to the old BottomLine (which had been used since April 2003) because of major technical difficulties. The new BottomLine was functional during coverage of the 2009 NFL Draft and the 2009 NBA Draft, but the issues were fixed and the it eventually returned on July 8 of the same year. Yet another redesigned BottomLine was launched at 11 PM ET on June 22, 2014, to coincide with a dramatic redesign of the SportsCenter studio.[1]

On August 20, 2018, a refreshed BottomLine launched. The BottomLine switched to a "flipper" format, used two lines of text, and no longer showed the logos of teams during score updates. In addition, the rightmost third of the BottomLine was now used for promoting events on the channel, the ESPN+ subscription service, or giving information on delays or breaking news events.[2]

Variants

ESPN 2

In 1995, ESPN2 debuted a sports news ticker, dubbed by Production Assistant Onnie Bose as the "BottomLine Update." It is a persistent ticker which stayed at the bottom of the screen at all times during most programming, unlike ESPN, who only showed their own at the :18 (formerly :28) and :58 of each hour (accompanied by an audio cue, which has since been adapted as the alert tone for ESPN's mobile apps) and during select programming.[3] The introductory audio cue was removed when the BottomLine graphics were updated in 2009. ESPN2's sports telecasts were also among the first to regularly use a scoring bug. In later years, ESPN2 would also participate in "Full Circle" telecasts, productions of a single game aired across multiple ESPN services to provide additional features and angles.

ESPNEWS

ESPNEWS's "bottom line" — a small rectangular area at the bottom one-fifth of the screen flashing scores—is more in-depth than the one airing on ESPN's other networks. It contains not only scores but also statistics and brief news alerts about the day's happenings in sports. It also remains on screen during most commercial breaks. This particular BottomLine was re-designed as the network was re-launched on March 30, 2008.[4] The change from a big BottomLine to the ESPN-shaped BottomLine, the decrease of ESPNEWS programming, and SportsCenter being shown on ESPNEWS has had some controversy among longtime ESPNEWS viewers. The network was changed over to a full-screen presentation on June 2010 with the network receiving the BottomLine used on all other ESPN networks in anticipation of the network's primetime programming being rebranded under the SportsCenter branding.

ESPN on ABC

For most of its history, ABC's BottomLine ticker used the same design as ESPN's with the only exceptions being formatted to the 4:3 aspect ratio, the ABC logo being located on top of the ticker rather than being docked on the ticker itself, and promotions for ABC network programs included. Beginning with the 2016 Little League World Series, ABC's BottomLine ticker was switched to 16:9 ratio used by the other ESPN networks as ABC later switched its programming to a 16:9 format the following month. During NBA broadcasts, the logo is moved to the far right corner of the screen to accommodate the expanded score bar intro in 2016. During X Games broadcasts, an X Games logo with the ABC logo over it is used in place of the normal ABC logo.

Cold Pizza

Cold Pizza was notable for having its own version of ESPN's BottomLine, as their ticker not only gave sports scores but also news headlines and weather forecasts from sports cities and is shown in its own color scheme. It also functioned differently: it constantly scrolled, while other ESPN "BottomLines" usually "flip" through the different scores, scrolling only for long statistical lines (until August 20, 2018, when the bottomline was updated to flip even through long statistical lines, as a result of the bottomline now being two lines rather than one). This graphic was discontinued in the summer of 2006 when the "BottomLine" was changed to resemble those of other ESPN programs.

College Football Playoff Megacast

The Playoff Megacasts for 2017 introduced a new statistical ticker, which shows info about the current drive, and stats about plays made. Unlike the others, it just fades out stats, instead of flipping.

For the 2018 semifinals, a newly redesigned version of the statistical ticker was unveiled.

Defunct Windows PC Ticker

From the Windows 98 era to the middle of the Windows XP era, a BottomLine ticker application using Macromedia Shockwave technology was available for personal use on a Windows personal computer (and was embeddedable with credit as a part of personal websites). Its last update (version 2.1) was in August 2004.[5]

gollark: I prefer using Linuxen, which on the one hand tend to suffer this less but on the other often get less support.
gollark: It's kind of annoying that companies end up making this sort of thing necessary...
gollark: Can you not just buy generic empty rackmount chassies?
gollark: Ah.
gollark: What platform's assembly is that?

References
  1. "ESPN debuts futuristic 'SportsCenter' set and revamped ticker". For The Win. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  2. "ESPN's BottomLine Will Have New Look Come Monday - ESPN Front Row". ESPN Front Row. 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  3. "Dedicated staff keeps close watch on ESPN's Bottom Line - USATODAY.com". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  4. "ESPNews HD Takes Graphic Approach". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  5. "ESPN.com BottomLine FAQ Page". ESPN.com. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
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