December 22, 2011

NFL Puts Super Bowl Online

For the first time, the Super Bowl will stream live on February 5--on the Web sites of both the NFL and NBC. Larry Greenemeier reports

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No single event is more important in broadcasting each year than the National Football League's Super Bowl. Now that event looks to be a big draw online, too.

On February 5th, pro football's championship game will for the first time be streamed online via the NFL and NBC Web sites. Meanwhile, Verizon is offering a mobile Super Bowl viewing app for its customers.

NBC already streams "Sunday Night Football" games, so we're not talking about new technology. What's big is TV entrusting its crown jewel to the Web without fear of losing audience.

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Then again, it might not be such a risk. At the recent Social TV Summit in New York City, networks and marketers acknowledged that they have to embrace the Web in order to survive. Even better, they think viewers using mobile devices while watching TV are more likely to stay tuned in, even during commercials.

Some research says people are watching about 22 more minutes of TV per month than a year ago. Sitting through the Super Bowl's halftime show alone more than meets that average—although there are probably easier ways to do it.

—Larry Greenemeier

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

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