NBC’s “SNF” Exec Producer Fred Gaudelli discussed how to handle head injuries during broadcasts. Appearing on Slate's "Hang Up and Listen" podcast, Gaudelli said he was "100 percent sensitive" to airing head hits during the game broadcast. He added player safety is the NFL's "No. 1 issue." Gaudelli compared showing head injuries to "replaying a car accident five times.” He said, “How many times do you really want to replay it? Five years ago, I would have done it." Gaudelli noted sideline reporter Michele Tafoya is "well aware of the independent neurologists on each sideline" who are able to review the game tape of a particular play and "that's part of our coverage plan when things of that nature happen." Meanwhile, Gaudelli said of declining ratings: “I just think they're the normal cycles that come part-and-parcel with entertainment and the television industry. I think that when you're putting up 22, 23, 24, 25 million people, there are very, very, very, as you well know, few shows on TV that can do that on a consistent basis” ("Hang Up and Listen," SLATE.com, 9/10).
