The evolution of the Fox Box.(continuous time-and-score on-screen graphic initiated by Fox on its NFL inaugural)(Brief Article)

Four scores and seven years ago, Fox planted a continuous time-and-score graphic on its NFL inaugural, igniting the Fox Box fashion trend and inciting controversy.

"We got calls from press and public saying, `It's impossible to watch a game with that thing on the screen!' We got death threats," remembers Ed Goren, president/executive producer. "David Hill (Fox Sports CEO) said, `Don't worry, I tried it in England; after the first week there were half the complaints and the third week it was 25 percent: He was correct. Now people don't want sports without it"

He is correct. The Fox Box was a godsend for audio-impaired bar patrons and channel surfers. Because it didn't erode ratings, it was regaled as a wonder drug. Today almost every telecaster uses and abuses it.

Fox didn't patent its gimmick. "If we had," says Goren, "David and I would be on some island drinking merlot" Instead, they've been refining the Fox Box into the multisport Fox Strip, which this fall also displays down, distance, penalties, timeouts, scoring updates from every game and, until further notice, a mini-American flag.

What hath Fox wrought? Has the Box run amok?

Major holdout NBC thinks so. That network (while superimposing Peacocks 24/7 and flashing scores several times per minute) alleges Fox Boxes are intrusive. And they are, when CBS' flying box obscures ...