College football Saturdays will look a little different on ESPN from now on. The network is removing its BottomLine ticker from regular-season college football broadcasts this season, and the move has not exactly united the fanbase.
CFB Fans and Media Split Over ESPN’s Decision
This change will take away a familiar feature from games airing on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News, the ACC Network and SEC Network.
The decision, first reported by Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, brings regular-season college football broadcasts in line with several of ESPN’s biggest events. The network has already removed the ticker during the College Football Playoff, as well as postseason coverage of the NBA and NHL.
ESPN says the change is meant to make the broadcast easier to watch.
“We’re always looking for ways to better serve sports fans. By removing the BottomLine during live action, we’re creating a cleaner presentation that keeps the focus where it belongs on the field.”
Nevertheless, the reaction from some showed that the BottomLine was not just a strip of information running across the screen. While watching one game, a fan could learn that a ranked team was having a hard time, a rival had fallen behind, or an upset was beginning to develop somewhere else in the country.
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That was the appeal of the BottomLine. It allowed fans to follow a sport that is built around dozens of games being played at the same time without forcing them to leave the broadcast they were watching.
Nevertheless, ESPN is betting viewers would rather have the extra space on the screen.
The network will not eliminate score updates altogether. According to Front Office Sports, ESPN plans to show score alerts at specific points during each quarter. The network will also use graphics near the score bug or in the upper-right corner of the screen to communicate programming information.
Television networks have increasingly had to account for streaming, second-screen viewing, and the fact that fans can follow several games simultaneously through their phones. The BottomLine, however, is a piece of television history for many viewers. Which is why the response to the announcement was split almost immediately.
Some welcomed the decision.
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“Great move. The ticker made sense in the days before phones. Now it’s just clutter,” Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote.
Great move. The ticker made sense in the days before phones. Now it’s just clutter. https://t.co/yqQtgqLSNp
— Kevin O’Connor (@KevinOConnor) August 26, 2026
“100% support this… Finally,” radio host Chris Plank said.
100% support this… Finally https://t.co/zSxP5uVp95
— Chris Plank (@PlankShow) August 26, 2026
“My understanding is they’re going to replace it with a live stream of McAfee announcing scores,” columnist Jason Whitlock remarked.
My understanding is they’re going to replace it with a live stream of McAfee announcing scores. https://t.co/AbyEJgSaNb
— Jason Whitlock (@jasonwhitlock) August 26, 2026
“Awesome move, looking forward to this,” a CFB page wrote.
Awesome move, looking forward to this. https://t.co/ErBQc0ieTa
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 26, 2026
Others were not nearly as pleased.
“WHAT. WHY?” CFP writer Brian Rauf wrote.
WHAT. WHY? https://t.co/mhTHFCRyLs
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) August 26, 2026
“I’m sorry, maybe I’m old, but does anyone want this?” On3 reporter Ari Wasserman said.
I’m sorry maybe I’m old but does anyone want this? https://t.co/sByasciMG4
— Ari Wasserman (@AriWasserman) August 26, 2026
“The bottom ticker is vital to the art of channel surfing a College Football Saturday. Huge mistake,” CFB analyst Landon Tengwall commented.
The bottom ticker is vital to the art of channel surfing a College Football Saturday. Huge mistake https://t.co/ZYVan2lAbh
— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) August 26, 2026
“This network becomes more and more of a shell of its former glory each day,” On3 reporter Anthony Broome said.
This network becomes more and more of a shell of its former glory each day https://t.co/yVnjm5NHBX
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) August 26, 2026
CFB has never been a single-game sport in the same way many other major events are. On a typical Saturday, games begin throughout the day and overlap for hours. Fans move between matchups, watch one game while monitoring another, and keep an eye on the scoreboard for the next surprise.
The BottomLine was built for that environment.
