If Edmonton Eskimos president Chris Presson gets his way, there could be a new wrinkle to the CFL on TSN broadcasts this season.
If you’ve watched any of the XFL games, or an AAF game last season before they folded, odds are you’ve noticed those leagues have handled video replay differently from a broadcast perspective.
Unlike the current setup for the CFL and NFL where broadcasts generally go to commercial breaks, in the XFL you can hear the conversation between the official on the field and the video replay official.
“I think they do a really good job with the creativity,” Presson told 630 CHED.
“One of the things I’ve been pushing for that I stole from the Alliance of American Football — which did not make it — was the transparency between the official on the field and the guy in the replay booth and the conversations that you can hear.”
Presson can push for change because he’s a part of the CFL’s innovation committee, the same group that’s looking at potentially changing the CFL playoff format.
In Presson’s mind, giving the viewers the chance to hear the conversation brings a breath of honesty to video review.
“You can hear the referee say ‘this is what I’m looking for’ and the fans that are watching at home can feel that transparency and honesty. Frankly, I think we lack some of that in our league right now.”
The good news for fans? There does appear to be some interest in making this change happen.
“I’ve been proposing that. We’re trying to figure how to make that happen. It does have legs. It’s just logistically, how do we do that for the 2020 season?”
