Side-by-side (graphic)
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Side-by-side is a type of split-screen presentation format used on television broadcasts, particularly as a means of continuing to show a view of ongoing
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content, whilst simultaneously airing
commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...
alongside them. Typically, only the audio of the advertising is played. The practice was initially synonymous with sporting events, with TBS first using the format in a 2000 NASCAR Cup Series race.
Motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
is one of several sports that do not have natural
television timeout A television timeout (alternately TV timeout or media timeout) is a break in a televised live event for the purpose of television broadcasting. This allows commercial broadcasters to take an advertising break, or issue their required hourly statio ...
s; as races are only typically halted for reasons such as accident cleanup and inclement weather, there are no natural locations for commercial breaks besides caution periods — which vary based on race conditions (although under current
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
regulations, all races are guaranteed to contain two competition cautions due to their new stage system). The technology uses a split-screen to show the feed of the live sports event on one side with no audio, while the traditional commercial is placed on the other side, with full audio. Typically, the square used for the commercial is larger and more prominent than that of the event. Sometimes, a small graphic showing the lap count and leaders' names accompanies the square, or the normal ticker is still shown in the layout. ''side-by-side'' is used during all national commercial breaks during the race but ''Side-by-Side'' is also used during local breaks. Side-By-Side can also be used during the pre-race and the post-race segments. During red flag stoppage conditions, Side-by-Side has been used, but during lengthy delays, such as rain delay, commercials revert to traditional full-screen format. The concept has since been adopted, at times, in other sports such as golf, as well as football and other non-sports events: although there are natural breaks in football, the content displayed in the live view may consist of behind-the-scenes content.


By network


CBS

During CBS NFL doubleheaders, if the local market has to cut away from the conclusion of the first game per NFL rules, CBS in most cases may show a split screen of the conclusion of the first game while showing the second game.


TBS and NBC

TBS debuted the
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format at the 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500
NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...
race. NBC followed suit at the 2000 Pennzoil 400, also a NASCAR Cup race, with the branding "No Brakes Coverage". The experiment did not continue in 2001.


ESPN and ABC

ESPN first used Side-By-Side for an
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
event on March 19,
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during the
Toyota Indy 300 The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American open wheel races held in South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA held one board track race in 1926, and then the facility was destroyed by a hurricane. The popular CART IndyCar ...
at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was adopted for the entire season outside of
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
. The format was first used for the
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...
in
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. Starting during the playoffs of the
2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Andy Lally's car at Pocono Raceway, he won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year">Rookie of the Year. thumb">Chevrolet won the List_of_NASCAR_Manufacturers%27_champions, Manufacturer's championship with 18 wins & 248 points. The 2011 NASCAR Sprint ...
, ESPN began to use a similar feature during the second half of the race, in this case branded as "NASCAR Nonstop". When
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
returned to ESPN in
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, ESPN used Sky Sports' UK coverage, and again used the format for its first broadcast. However, following heavy criticism from fans (at times cutting off the commentators when they were in the middle of sentences), ESPN televised the remaining races of the season with no commercial breaks during live broadcasts, starting from the
Bahrain Grand Prix The Bahrain Grand Prix (), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made hist ...
.


TNT

''
NASCAR on TNT ''NASCAR on TNT'' Sports is the branding for NASCAR races broadcast on TNT and formerly TBS both by TNT Sports. Initially on TBS from 1983 to 2000, then later moving to TNT to serve as the cable partner for NBC Sports' coverage of NASCAR from ...
'' used a modified split-screen format for their broadcast of the
Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ...
at
Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...
branded as "Wide-Open Coverage"; the running order ticker and all on-screen graphics were displayed in an enlarged panel at the button of the screen (race footage was displayed on the top portion of the screen). Commercials were instead shown in a box docked to the lower panel, while race footage continued to be displayed. Many of the commercials were unique and/or specially created for the race broadcast, and lasted up to 1–2 minutes in duration (as opposed to the 15-30 second duration of normal advertisements). Time was still provided for local ad breaks. The format was used from 2007 through 2012; the 2013 edition of the race discontinued the format.
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
's TV shows, ''Dynamite'' and ''Rampage'', also use side by side for national ad breaks during matches.


NBC

Beginning in
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, Versus, now known as
NBCSN NBCSN (also known as NBC Sports Network) was an American sports television television channel, channel owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It originally launched on July 1, 1995, as the Outdoor Lif ...
, became a new television partner with the IndyCar Series. During the race broadcast, they introduced IndyCar Non-Stop with a format and appearance nearly identical to that of Side-By-Side. The format has since been extended in 2013 to NBC/NBCSN's coverage of
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
(branded as Formula One Non-Stop) until NBC lost the rights to ESPN for 2018, and again in 2015 in the networks' return to
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
(branded as NASCAR Non-Stop). In October 2013, subsidiary
Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC Golf") is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ba ...
introduced the format under the title "Playing Through" (referencing a courtesy in golf for groups playing faster to overtake groups playing slower). NBC used a similar format during commercial breaks for the
2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The Olympic Games ceremony#Opening, opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 23 July 2021 at the Japan National Stadium, Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally opened by Emperor of Japan, Emperor Naruhito. As mandat ...
parade of nations and for some commercial breaks during the
American Song Contest The ''American Song Contest'' is an American music reality competition television series based on the Eurovision Song Contest. The sole season of the series was hosted by Snoop Dogg and Kelly Clarkson; it consisted of eight episodes airing be ...
.


Fox

Fox, who started covering
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
in 2001, resisted the use of the technology for many years. By about 2010, however, executives began exploring the concept. In 2011, they conducted one experimental commercial break with a split-screen format. Through 2011, Fox has preferred to air traditional, full-screen commercials, and if any action occurs during the break, their policy is to interrupt the commercial and return to the live action (e.g. at the 2013 Auto Club 400, the broadcast was in a commercial break when
Clint Bowyer Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado ...
blew an engine and spun, so the feed immediately cut the commercial break right away; at the
2013 Aaron's 499 The 2013 Aaron's 499 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on May 5, 2013, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, United States. Contested over 192 laps on the 2.66–mile (4.28 km) tri-oval, it was the tenth ...
, the feed was in commercial break when a crash occurred on lap 43). FOX returned to using the side-by-side coverage during the 2012 Daytona 500. During coverage of the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic, Fox began experimenting with a split-screen commercial format it dubbed the "Double Box", where commercials during a
television timeout A television timeout (alternately TV timeout or media timeout) is a break in a televised live event for the purpose of television broadcasting. This allows commercial broadcasters to take an advertising break, or issue their required hourly statio ...
were displayed in a prominent widescreen box, accompanied by an "L-bar" with sponsor logos relevant to the commercial, and a small window showing continued live footage from the event (such as shots around the stadium and teams in the huddle). Fox also experimented with a similar format during ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'', where selected breaks showcased behind-the-scenes camera feeds from the live broadcast In 2017, Fox introduced a similar presentation for short-form, in-game commercials displayed in the midst of a telecast, which are acknowledged and introduced by the commentator.


RDS and TSN (Canada)

The French Canadian sports channel
Réseau des sports Réseau des sports (RDS) is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language Discretionary service, discretionary specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Special ...
(RDS, the French sister network of TSN), which is partially owned by ESPN, adopted a Side-By-Side-styled split-screen for its
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
race coverage beginning in 2006. As the network has historically used feeds and commentary from the British F1 rightsholder, TSN began to use a similar format in 2009 after its domestic rights moved from ITV to the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
(which did not air commercials). If the necessary clean feed is provided during events simulcast from a U.S. network with their own side-by-side feature, TSN will typically use the format with its own advertising. TSN has also adopted the format on
curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...
telecasts, where the first few stones thrown during an end (which are not usually shown during televised matches in order to accommodate commercial time) are shown in such a split screen view.


Outside of sports

Side-by-side commercial breaks have sometimes been used by
news channel News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...
s to accommodate live, uninterrupted images of an ongoing or anticipated event.


Reception

Side-By-Side and its similar counterparts have been generally received with positive reviews from viewers, sponsors, and sanctioning bodies. It has been criticized for potentially devaluing advertisements, costing networks revenues, and waning the interest of the advertisers. In addition, it has led to speculation that a similar technology might be implemented for in-game advertisements. In February 2022 amid the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
,
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
faced criticism on social media for segueing from footage of air raid sirens ringing over the Ukraine capital of
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, to a split-screen between a live shot of the city and an upbeat
Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, ...
commercial. In response to the criticism, Applebee's pulled its advertising from the channel.


References

{{NASCAR on ESPN Sports television technology ESPN IndyCar Series on television ABC Sports TNT Sports (United States) NBC Sports The Sports Network NASCAR on television Television terminology