NBC and the National Football League have announced that 2.1 million people watched the very first legal online stream of the Super Bowl this past Sunday. It marks the largest online audience for a sporting event. In 2011, the NFL announced it would allow NBC to stream Super Bowl XLVI. CBS had requested to stream Super Bowl XLIV two years ago, but the NFL turned it down.
NBC promoted the Super Bowl online as a companion to its over the air broadcast giving online viewers four extra camera angles.
Those watching on their computers noticed that the TV ads nor the Madonna halftime show were part of the online stream. And there were buffering issues as well as delays of up to 30 seconds compared to the TV broadcast. Even with those problems, both NBC and the NFL are declaring Sunday’s stream as asuccess.
We have the NBC press release.
SUPER BOWL XLVI LIVE STREAM SETS TRAFFIC RECORDS
Over Two Million Streamed Super Bowl XLVI
More than 78 Million Minutes StreamedNEW YORK -– Feb. 7, 2012 –- The first-ever live stream of a Super Bowl in the United States attracted 2,105,441 users, making it the most-watched, single-game sports event ever online, according to data provided by Omniture and mDialog, surpassing any previously reported record. The live game stream was available on both NBCSports.com as well asNFL.com. NBC Sports’ live stream was also available on NFL Mobile only from Verizon. Yesterday, NBC Sports announced its broadcast coverage of Super Bowl XLVI was the most-watched television program in U.S. history (111.3 million viewers) and the highest-rated Super Bowl in 26 years (47.0 household rating)
“The Super Bowl XLVI live stream exceeded our expectations in every way. Increasingly, sports fans are looking to digital coverage as a complementary ‘second screen’ experience, and we delivered on that promise with unprecedented robust coverage,” said Kevin Monaghan, SVP, Business Development & Managing Director Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. “The record traffic that grew throughout the event, as well as the record high engagement numbers, underscores the complementary aspect of digital as an enhancement to our exceptional television coverage.”
“It was exciting to work with NBC Sports to offer fans the Super Bowl in more ways than ever before,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL, SVP, Media Strategy and Development. “The Super Bowl live stream was a tremendous success in its first year. We will continue to look for more ways to reach our fans.”
NBCSports.com‘s online streaming of Super Bowl XLVI featured HD-quality video, DVR controls and multiple camera angles along with social interactivity, including a live chat with Mike Florio from NBC’s ProFootballTalk, and tweets from Michele Tafoya, NBC Sports’ sideline reporter, and Jimmy Fallon, the host of NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Florio and commentator Randy Moss also supplied the halftime content for the live stream with a live video report and game analysis from just outside the team locker rooms. In addition to game highlights, viewers were also able to watch replays of popular Super Bowl TV commercials.
Online Traffic Data
Unique Users – 2,105,441 (live stream online)
Live Video Streams – 4,589,593 (live stream online)
Total Minutes Streamed – 78,624,422
On-Demand Clips – 1,838,812 VOD clips viewed
User-Generated Camera Switches – 1,835,676
Engagement – More than 39 minutes per visit.
That’s going to do it.
