Networks use plenty of stock images and footage as broadcasts for live sporting events head to commercial breaks. But a mistake on Sunday emphasized the need to vet the age of these images.
As ABC went to a commercial during Game 1 of the Heat-Knicks series on Sunday, it showed a stock image of the Statue of Liberty panning up to the left. But just below the statue, viewers could see the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center.
The towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001 after terrorists hijacked two planes and flew them into the towers.
This did in fact air on ABC. https://t.co/hsDSYXQUg6 pic.twitter.com/mnOFk8hvrd
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 30, 2023
"We mistakenly used an old stock image and we apologize," ESPN senior director of communications Ben Cafardo said in a statement, via Awful Announcing.
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It is understandable for networks to use years-old stock images and footage on broadcasts. The casual viewer is not typically going to notice differences between a city in a few months' span. Perhaps even in a few years' span, if it is a tight shot of a particular landmark.
However, this image of the Statue of Liberty was not cut close enough to limit it to just the landmark, and it wound up showing too much of the most obvious difference in a skyline. The presence of the original World Trade Center means the shot was more than two decades old.
As Awful Announcing pointed out, this is just the most recent example of a production gaffe involving the tragic attack on the World Trade Center. Last year, while promoting a series between the Red Sox and Yankees, Fox placed the logos of the two teams in each of the "Reflecting Absence" pools at the 9/11 memorial, the two waterfall pools at the site where the buildings stood.
Hey @FOXSports — please tell us you didn’t do this to the #WorldTradeCenter memorial. pic.twitter.com/4RmUlrZVJ8
— Sid The Kid (@SidDinsay) July 17, 2022
MORE: Fox Sports ripped for putting graphics atop image of 9/11 memorial in NYC
Fox apologized for the incident.
“During tonight’s telecast, we used poor judgement on the use of a graphic. We sincerely apologize and regret the decision," a network spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Beast.
There's a good chance that this mistake on the ABC broadcast of the game will lead to archiving some old stock photos and footage to ensure it doesn't happen again.
