They tried that once for an NFL game. Early 80s, Jets game I think. It was an awful experiment.
ETA:
The
Announcerless Game was an
American football contest played on December 20, 1980, between the
New York Jets and the
Miami Dolphins of the
National Football League. As an experiment, the
NBC television network broadcast it without assigning any
commentators to cover it. The two teams were playing the last game of
that season for them as neither had qualified for
the playoffs, and since the game was being broadcast nationally NBC executive
Don Ohlmeyer decided on the idea to boost what would otherwise have been weak
ratings. The Jets won a 24–17
upset victory.
[1]
To replace the announcers, the network used more
graphics than usual and asked the
public address announcer at
Miami's
Orange Bowl to impart more information than he typically did. Efforts to use more sensitive microphones and pick up more sound from the field, however, did not succeed. While the experiment did increase the telecast's ratings, it was widely regarded as a failure since it did not provide sufficient context for viewers. No network broadcasting any major North American professional team sport has ever tried it again, except through alternate feeds of games offered with announcers
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