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It’s almost time for the big game this Sunday! And, for the first time ever, NBC will be live streaming the Super Bowl XLIX and halftime show (featuring Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz) available on desktop and tablets for FREE. Access to the NBC’s live streams usually require viewer’s log in to a participating cable or satellite TV provider, however NBC has waived this requirement and will be offering free access for what they’re branding as “Super Stream Sunday.”
Just on the heels of NBC Universal’s first ever TV Everywhere consumer campaign “Watch TV Without The TV,” “Super Stream Sunday” provides consumers with 11 continuous hours of NBC streaming content for free, created as a way for consumers to trial NBC’s TV Everywhere offering. The Super Bowl will be available to viewers via NBC Sports Live Extra and the Sports Live Extra app for tablets and on the web.
“‘Super Stream Sunday’ builds off of NBCUniversal’s commitment to create broader TV Everywhere opportunities for our consumers,” said Alison Moore, GM and EVP, TV Everywhere, NBCUniversal in a release. “We are leveraging the massive digital reach of the Super Bowl to help raise overall awareness of TV Everywhere by allowing consumers to explore our vast TVE offering with this special one-day-only access.”
As a true industry leader, NBC Sports was the first company to ever live stream a Super Bowl when it did so in 2012 for Super Bowl XLVI. However, this is the first time NBC Sports will live stream the halftime show.
This is a fantastic offering for cord-cutters looking to watch the Super bowl live, without having to go to a crowded bar or their parents house. For TV Everywhere to continue to grow in popularity, consumers must receive a lean-back, high quality, uninterrupted streaming experience. Therefore, it’s crucial for NBC to have total control over their video streaming experience and that is why they’re leveraging Conviva’s Insights and Intelligent Control Platform during the live telecast of Super Bowl this Sunday. The Conviva team will be working hard to support NBC with second to second intelligence on their video delivery QoE, discovering and reporting on any outages or bottlenecks immediately.
During last year’s Superbowl, Fox Networks saw a record 1.1 million concurrent viewers during the 3rd quarter blowout of the Broncos by the Seahawks, and we expect NBC to also see unprecedented numbers.
Our dedicated Product, Engineering and Customer Success teams have canceled their super bowl party plans and are preparing our systems for potentially record-breaking streams this Sunday! Last year Conviva set a new record on day one of the World Cup, with 1.82 million peak concurrent views – the highest volume we’ve ever seen for a single broadcast event. We’re proud of our growth as we continue to transform the way the world watches TV on the Internet.
So. Get. Ready.
It all kicks offs this Sunday at noon EST with NBC’s Super Bowl pre-game coverage and concludes with The Blacklist after post-game coverage at approximately 10 p.m. EST. During the Super Bowl stream, NBC will advertise its TV Everywhere services, explaining to viewers how easy it is to authenticate in order to view other content in the future.
Stay tuned for updates from our HQ on record-breaking, football fanatic viewer streams. We can’t wait to see the action between the Seahawks and Patriots! Place your bets!
