- Viewers chastised Fox Sports for its new scorebug. Online critics took issue with its size, design and high distraction figure—and didn’t hold back in their comments.
Fox knew all eyes would be on its Super Bowl coverage Sunday night. An estimated 119.7 million people were predicted to tune into the game. And judging by social media, nearly every single one of them absolutely loathed the network’s changes to its scorebug.
Scorebugs, for non-sports fans, are those onscreen graphics that sit at the bottom of the screen featuring (this much you probably figured out) the score of the game. They’re a useful tool for quickly catching up people who are just tuning in or who might have stepped away for a bit.
At their best, they’re the sort of thing people can subconsciously tune out as they watch a game. But the one Fox debuted Sunday was anything but minimalist.
With a huge font that dominated the lower fifth of the screen, Fox’s scorebug was in your face. And viewers were not happy with what they saw. Social media was aflame with criticisms of the new scorebug. And while people might have had a bit more to say about Kendrick Lamar once halftime rolled around, the first 30 minutes of the game was spent aiming ire at the network.
Here’s a sample of some of the feedback Fox is shifting through this morning.
After giving Tom Brady $375 million, Fox only had $25 left to spend on a scorebug design. Pic.twitter.com/OrcEYPP9Zz
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) February 9, 2025
This score bug looks like a ninth grader made it after opening up Photoshop for the first time
— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) February 9, 2025
Idk if I can do these graphics for 4 hours
— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) February 9, 2025
This is so comically bad that it's distracting from the game itself.
— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) February 9, 2025
I THINK THE SCORE BUG IS A LITTLE BIG
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) February 9, 2025
Fox has not commented on whether it plans to tweak the design of the scorebug before the beginning of next season.