Perhaps Nickelodeon needed to broadcast its NFL Wild Card playoffs with a five-second delay. Or did the producers think that the microphones may not catch players cursing on the field?
The broadcast for children has been fun (and we’ll talk more about that in a separate article), generally well received by fans who accepted it in the spirit that CBS intended. Slime cannons firing at touchdowns, pulsating lines of green and orange first-down, SpongeBob SquarePants appearing between the columns in the field goal attempts, etc.
But just before the break, the audio in the field was a little more adult than Nickelodeon viewers (especially parents) would like. Chicago Bears receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was called in for being pushed off the field and then running on the sideline without making an immediate effort to get back on the field. This attracted a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and an unsafe reaction to children on Patterson’s TV:
Cordarrelle Patterson dropping an F bomb on Nickelodeon. pic.twitter.com/e1podNfVOC
– Josh Hill (@jdavhill) January 10, 2021
Oh, this is an F-bomb, kids! You can’t do that on television! It’s not a Nickelodeon broadcast aimed at children, of course.
Neither announcer Noah Eagle nor analyst Nate Burleson tried to explain this, as they had made many rules and plays during the first half of the Nickelodeon broadcast for young and perhaps newcomers unfamiliar with an NFL game.
With none – or very few – fans in the stands making sporting events quieter than normal, even with the noise of the crowd, the sound on the pitch has been picked up by microphones close to the pitch more than usual. Therefore, comments from players, coaches and officials that would normally be muffled are broadcasting. And they are not always suitable for prime time.
That’s probably what happened here, although Patterson was close enough to the officer that he could have heard of it on his microphone. No word on whether or not Patterson was asked to wash his mouth with soap by Nickelodeon and CBS executives during the break.