Tag: Super Bowl

Super Bowl LX, 2026 Winter Olympics, and the New Battleground for Live Sports

Live sports have been steadily moving to streaming, but Feb. 8 may mark a decisive shift. On that day, NBC and Peacock will broadcast both Super Bowl LX and the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. For an industry that has long debated whether streaming can support the biggest live sporting events at scale, this month will serve as a real-world, high-stakes test.

Francesca Pezzoli

For Peacock, this moment represents more than a programming milestone; it is an opportunity to validate its ambitions in live sports.

The stakes are high. Live sports viewers are less forgiving than on-demand audiences; even minor issues with access, discovery or technical performance can quickly erode trust. However, the rewards are substantial if Peacock delivers a seamless experience.

Success will not be measured only by subscriber growth or viewing time. It will be defined by visibility, consistency and execution: how often Peacock appears on the home screen, how effectively it surfaces live moments, and how intuitively it guides viewers between events, highlights and replays. In a crowded streaming environment, winning sports isn’t just about having the rights; it’s about owning the digital shelf.

CTV: The New Battleground for Attention

Connected TV (CTV) is becoming increasingly important as live sports viewing shifts to this platform. Currently, 80% of U.S. CTV users stream live sports, according to the “LG Ad Solutions report: Stadium to Screen,” making the TV home screen a critical gateway to reach fans.

On Feb. 8, the competition will extend beyond Peacock versus other streaming services. It will be a visibility contest across Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, LG, and other platforms, where device-level discovery determines which audiences see first. Which apps and live events are featured on home screens, and which platforms successfully convert viewer intent into action, will ultimately determine success.

For viewers, the experience will feel simple: turn on the TV and watch. Behind the scenes, however, the CTV merchandising strategy will play a disproportionate role in determining who wins attention during one of the most competitive live sports days of the year. This is the turning point where home-screen visibility becomes as valuable as the rights themselves.

The Paris 2024 Olympics set viewership records across linear, digital and social platforms. The 2026 Winter Olympics are expected to be even more multichannel. Fans will move between live broadcasts, streaming apps, highlights, social clips and second-screen experiences. For Peacock, this means alignment across content strategy, CTV execution and device-level partnerships.

Last year’s Super Bowl on Fox and Tubi was the most-watched Super Bowl and telecast in U.S. history. Tubi provided a top-tier streaming experience for free, a key message highlighted in their most prominent placements across Samsung TV, LG TV and Google TV.

To achieve success this year, Peacock needs to secure premium advertising environments, establish dominant home-screen placements, and ensure effective promotion across CTV devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and smart TVs.

Why This Matters

February will be an important case study for sports streaming. In addition to the Super Bowl and Olympics, Peacock will air the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend. It will show how audiences behave when major live events are available on streaming platforms, how well CTV environments facilitate discovery, and whether the execution can meet expectations under such demanding live conditions.

Francesca Pezzoli is VP of marketing at Looper Insights, a company that helps major Hollywood studios, global streamers, local broadcasters, and entertainment platforms understand how content is promoted across connected TV and digital storefronts and how that visibility translates into audience engagement and viewership.

Nielsen: Fox’s Super Bowl Cross-Platform Distribution With Tubi Tops February TV Market Share

Fox’s decision to concurrently broadcast and live-stream the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 paid dividends with the game topping 110 billion minutes viewed across both platforms — down just 0.5% from last year’s Super Bowl, according to new Nielsen data.

A record-breaking 127.7 million people watched the broadcast of Super Bowl LIX, including a simulcast streamed on Tubi (Fox’s ad-supported free streaming service).

While previous Super Bowls have offered alternative streaming options, Tubi provided a means for the NFL championship game to reach even more viewers. As the game aired live, Tubi represented a third of all streaming usage and multiplied its audience to nearly 16 times its January 2025 average. Viewers that watched Tubi during the Super Bowl were 38% more likely to be 18-34 than the total game average, and also skewed slightly female. Overall, Tubi’s February usage was up 17% over January to finish with 2% of total TV watch-time, its largest share since July 2024.

Meanwhile, following typical seasonal trends, overall time spent watching television decreased from January to February. Streaming was least impacted, however, and the category gained 0.9 share points versus January to account for 43.5% of total viewing time in February, marking its largest share of the TV viewership pie to date. By comparison, broadcast (21.2%) and cable (23.2%) combined to account for 44.4% of TV time in February.

Time spent watching YouTube on TV in February was up 2.5% versus last month to represent 11.6% of total TV viewing — a record for YouTube and the streaming category overall. Additionally, nearly 27% of time spent streaming in February was dedicated to watching YouTube.

Following its platform-best performance achieved last month, Netflix represented the second largest share among streaming services in February with 8.2% of TV. Netflix also owned the top streaming program in February with its original action-thriller series “The Night Agent,” which captured 6 billion viewing minutes across the month. Licensed episodes of the Australian animated children’s show “Bluey” on Disney+ were second with 4.2 billion minutes.

Among cable viewing, the championship game in the inaugural NHL 4 Nations Face-Off drew this month’s largest cable audience, with 9.3 million viewers on ESPN. Fox News Channel represented the next 13 top cable telecasts, as cable news gained 8% over January to represent 27% of all cable viewing in February.

On broadcast, the Super Bowl and its pregame and postgame programs on Fox were followed by NBC’s Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special with 16.5 million viewers, and The Grammys on CBS with 16.2 million viewers. Broadcast dramas, which accounted for the largest share of broadcast viewing in February (27%), were up 15% versus last month and led by CBS’s “Tracker” (10.6 million) and “Matlock” (9.4 million).

January’s post-season success for the NFL and College Football Playoffs meant an even steeper decline for traditional TV viewing in February. This was most obvious among sports events viewership, which fell 54% on broadcast and 42% on cable versus January. Despite strong showings by the Super Bowl and aforementioned top telecasts, total broadcast fell by 10% to account for 21.2% of TV (-1.3 pts.). Meanwhile, cable declined 9% and totaled 23.2% of TV (-1.2 pts.).

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Actor Jon Hamm Narrates Exclusive Kansas City Chiefs ‘Back-to-Back Greatness’ YouTube Video

The NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs have kicked off the celebration of back-to-back Super Bowl victories with the launch of their YouTube video, “Back-to-Back Greatness,” ahead of the team’s upcoming Super Bowl LVIII Ring unveiling.

Jon Hamm

Narrated by Emmy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning actor and Missouri native Jon Hamm, the video features the team’s cornerback Trent McDuffie and defensive end George Karlaftis. Both players were drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft by the Chiefs, and went on to win Super Bowl LVII as rookies following the 2022 season. They followed that up with a victory in Super Bowl LVIII after the 2023 season, putting them — along with other Chiefs teammates — in an exclusive group of players that have won back-to-back Super Bowls with the same team in their first two years in the NFL.

In the spot, McDuffie and Karlaftis are seen inside a museum gallery, observing Chiefs artifacts as well as gold-framed paintings of moments throughout Chiefs history hung on red walls.

As they’re viewed by McDuffie and Karlaftis, the paintings send viewers to different eras of Chiefs football, with archival photos, video, and audio highlighting franchise history from the earliest days with founder Lamar Hunt, head coach Hank Stram, and QB Len Dawson, to the modern era led by CEO Clark Hunt, head coach Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes.

Each of the club’s three previous Super Bowl rings (IV, LIV, LVII) — all produced by Jostens, The Official Championship Ring Manufacturer of the Kansas City Chiefs — make an appearance in the video, alluding to the newest piece of jewelry on the way.

“A championship ring ceremony is one of the most unique nights in the sports world as it represents the culmination of a year’s worth of work on- and off-the-field and marks the last time players, coaches and staff will celebrate together before turning the page to the next season,” Mark Donovan, president of the Chiefs, said in a statement.

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Cinedigm Extends NFL Pact to Distribute Super Bowl Content on Digital, Packaged Media

Cinedigm Feb. 27 announced it is again partnering with the National Football League and NFL Films to continue title and packaged-media distribution of the Official NFL Super Bowl Championship film along with NFL Films’ catalog releases.

Cinedigm will release Super Bowl LVII Champions: Kansas City Chiefs on digital March 3 and on DVD/Blu-ray Disc combo pack March 14.

Led by two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs captured the franchise’s third Vince Lombardi trophy with a 38-35 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Engineering a game-winning drive in the final minutes, the Chiefs sealed Super Bowl LVII with a 27-yard field goal for the team’s second win in four years.

The film is available for pre-order on NFLShop.com or Apple TV, which includes the Chiefs’ five-game winning streak to close out the season, and a pair of playoff wins against Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals.

Alliance Entertainment serves as a production services partner to deliver the film on disc through NFLShop.com.

Yolanda Macias, chief content officer at Cinedigm, said the streamer/home entertainment distributor’s longstanding relationship with the NFL and NFL Films should pay dividends following the Chiefs’ win.

“We are confident that Chiefs fans will enjoy this incredible film celebrating their team’s unforgettable season,” Macias said in a statement.

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The Championship film includes the following special features available as iTunes extras and on the Blu-ray Disc Combo:

  • Chiefs 2019 Team Highlight Film
  • Post-Game Ceremonies
  • 2022 NFL Shots of the Year
    • Fun with Quarterbacks
    • Officials
    • Football Follies
    • National Tight Ends Day
    • Coach Speak
    • Celebrations
    • Trash Talk
  • Patrick Mahomes Interview
  • Andy Reid Interview
  • Chris Jones Vignette
  • Isiah Pacheco Vignette
  • Juju Smith-Shuster Vignette

Apple Music Streaming Service Replaces Pepsi as Super Bowl Halftime Show Sponsor

The NFL announced that the Apple Music streaming service is the professional football league’s new partner for this season’s 15-minute Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, replacing longtime sponsor Pepsi. Singer Rhianna will headline the performance, Feb. 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The five-year deal brings together the most-watched live musical performance of the year, with Apple Music, which offers subscribers access to more than 90 million songs.

Rhianna

“We couldn’t think of a more appropriate partner … than Apple Music, a service that entertains, inspires and motivates millions of people through the intersection of music and technology,” Nana-Yaw Asamoah, SVP of partner strategy for the NFL, said in a statement.

More than 120 million people watched The Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show live earlier this year, according to the NFL. The show featured a lineup of trailblazing rap musicians, including Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar, and marked the first time these five multi-award-winning artists performed together on stage. The Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show earned three Creative Emmy awards.

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“Music and sports hold a special place in our hearts, so we’re very excited Apple Music will be part of music and football’s biggest stage,” said Oliver Schusser, VP of Apple Music and Beats.

Past Super Bowl Halftime Show performances include The Weeknd, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Prince, Tom Petty, Michael Jackson and Madonna, among others.

Craig and the Camel May Be Gone, But Transactional Marketing Still Going Strong

For me, the pinnacle of marketing at the height of the DVD era was Craig Kornblau on a camel.

It was the heyday of event marketing. DVD had become such a monstrous success that disc revenues were outpacing theatrical. DVD potential was even a factor in deciding whether to greenlight movies.

No wonder, then, that at a time when a hot new DVD release could sell 20 million copies or more, just in the first week, the release of a big theatrical film on disc was hailed as a big event — and marketed accordingly.

I remember Disney’s gala launch party for the Ratatouille DVD, with more than a thousand guests crowding a ballroom at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel for a gastronomical feast.

I remember flying to London for a party to celebrate New Line Home Video’s release of the Lost in Space movie.

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I remember Warner Home Video’s Superman party, where I joked to then-president Ron Sanders that the shindig probably cost the studio more than they were spending on advertising with Home Media Magazine all year.

I remember being flown to London by PolyGram to celebrate the DVD release of Phantom of the Opera, as well as three Super Bowls (thanks, Bill Sondheim!) to drum up excitement for the subsequent NFL Super Bowl DVD.

And then there was Craig Kornblau and the camel. The “event” was the 2002 DVD release of The Scorpion King, and amid a throng of beefy warriors, belly dancers and flame explosions I remember looking up and seeing Kornblau, at the time president of Universal Studios Home Video, and his top marketing executive, Ken Graffeo, riding down Sunset Boulevard on a pair of massive dromedaries. A Los Angeles Times article from October 2002 picks up the story from there: “Moments later, the entire caravan, writhing women, camels and all, crossed Sunset Boulevard to the Virgin Megastore across the street, where confused shoppers were rapidly overrun by belly dancers, snake handlers and jugglers.”

The reporter quoted Kornblau as saying the studio hoped to generate earn more than $36 million in the first week of sales, more than the first week of box office for the film’s theatrical release.

These days, physical and digital sales of movies, even combined, area fraction of DVD sales 20 years ago, due to the rise and domination of subscription streaming.

And yet studio marketers continue to “eventize” new transactional releases, although invariably some, if not most, of a campaign’s components take place virtually, often through tie-ins with social media influencers.

In this year’s Power Marketing report, our fourth annual look at the top marketing campaigns of the past year, we profile nearly a dozen standouts from the major studios — and as you’ll see, creativity and ingenuity are certainly not in short supply. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, for example, launched F9 into the home market by getting stars Vin Diesel and Ludacris to share custom content on their Instagram accounts, followed by F9 Fest, a huge press and social media influencer event with interviews, a rooftop zipline stunt experience and even an F9 museum, featuring vehicles from the film.

And Paramount celebrated the 50thanniversary of The Godfather, and the landmark film’s 4K Ultra HD debut, with all sorts of creative executions, strategic partnerships and publicity events. A press screening on the studio lot was preceded by a panel discussion with director Francis Ford Coppola and stars James Caan and Talia Shire — along with a street-naming celebration and the presentation of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to Coppola.

Craig and his camel may be long gone, but “eventizing” home releases is certainly still a “thing.

Super Bowl LVI TV Viewership Projected to Barely Top Digital Streamers

About 49% of viewers for the pending Feb. 13 Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will use digital media, while 51% will watch the game on linear television, according to new data from Adtaxi, a digital marketing agency. Citing a Jan. 14 survey of 1,127 adults across U.S. geographic regions, income levels, gender and age, 64% of respondents chose streaming as their preferred method of content consumption.

Additionally, 46% of respondents said they will interact with various forms of digital media while watching the game: 31% state they will be using social media, 15% will be on a sporting website, and 8% will be using online forums.

Similarly to 2021, the majority of survey respondents said they would be skipping larger social gatherings. Another 43% plan to watch the Super Bowl either alone or with family at home, while 11% plan to throw a watch party, and an additional 11% plan to attend one. The survey also found that only 3% of consumers plan to watch the game from a bar or restaurant. In total, only 25% of Americans plan to watch the Super Bowl outside of their homes.

“With nearly half of Americans (46%) utilizing digital media while watching the big game, it will be important for marketers to prioritize multiple platforms,” Chris Loretto, EVP of Adtaxi, said in a statement. “The key to resonating on these social and streaming platforms will be a voice and strategy that is highly adaptable to changing circumstances and evolving preferences.”

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The survey found that the percentage of Americans still paying for cable services has fallen below 40%. Cable penetration was over 50% just three years ago. Not only is cable losing penetration, but the survey also found that less than half (36%) of respondents turn to cable when they turn on the TV.

In 2022, 33% of respondents said they plan to cancel their cable subscription, up from 31% in 2021 and 28% in 2020. For those wanting to move away from cable, 22% claim they like the option of “binge watching” shows on streaming services, and 27% want to watch content on their own time schedule.

“We can anticipate continued declines due to viewing preferences and cost, the multitude of streaming-capable devices over TV sets in the home, and increased competition directly from streaming services,” said Murry Woronoff, director of research at Adtaxi. “Comcast alone lost 1.5 million TV subscribers in 2021.”

The survey found that 92% of respondents stream some form of video content. The majority do so through either connected TV (64%), followed by smartphone/mobile device (54%) and/or laptop (38%).

According to the survey, two-thirds (64%) of consumers make streaming their default setting — the first thing they check for content. One-third of TV streamers obtain 100% of their video content from such services and 77% of TV streamers get the majority (over 50%) of their content via streaming services.

Notably, due to the pandemic, over two thirds (69%) of respondents said they do not plan to go back to the movie theater if new movies are available via streaming.

When asked what streaming services respondents had used in the past 30 days, 71% had used Netflix, 63% used Amazon Prime Video, 53% used YouTube TV, 44% used Hulu and Disney+, and 32% used HBO Max. Out of all the services listed (30), the majority of respondents (38%) said Netflix was the outlet they use most often followed by YouTube (14%).

ViacomCBS Eyes Super Bowl LV as Major Paramount+ Marketing Tool

Ahead of Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, in Tampa Bay, Fla., ViacomCBS is expanding the big game’s streaming reach across its digital properties. While the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports, it will also be available on CBSSports.com, CBS Sports app, in addition to Yahoo Sports, and ESPN digital properties.

The game, which will feature the first-ever female official (Down Judge Sarah Thomas), will also be live-streamed on CBS All Access, the SVOD platform that is rebranding to Paramount+ on March 4. As such, expect to see multiple tie-ins across ViacomCBS properties marketing the pending change, including AVOD platform Pluto TV.

Separate data from digital marketing agency Adtaxi found that 68% of survey respondents said they would forgo attending a Super Bowl party to watch the game at home alone.

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Last year’s Super Bowl LIV contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers saw 3.4 million people live-stream the game per minute, which was 30% more than the 2.6 million per minute who live-streamed Super Bowl LIII in 2019; and 103% more than the 1.7 million per minute who live-streamed Super Bowl LI in 2017.

“We’re excited to broaden the availability of our Super Bowl LV stream this year, and we look forward to building on the incredibly strong momentum NFL football is driving on CBS All Access as a cornerstone of the extensive live sports offerings available on the service,” Jeff Gerttula, EVP and GM, CBS Sports Digital, said in a statement.

Regardless, the Super Bowl remains a broadcast TV mainstay. The annual broadcast remains the single-day highest rated TV program with more than 100 million people tuning in.

Roku, Fox in Carriage Dispute Entering Super Bowl Weekend

In a first, Roku has notified its 32.3 million platform users that it might pull the Fox Channel app ahead of the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, which will be broadcast on Fox.

“Roku’s distribution agreement with Fox Corp. is set to expire on Jan. 31,” the streaming device pioneer said in a statement. “We offered Fox an extension so that Roku can continue to bring a large and valuable audience to Fox. If an agreement is not reached, we will be forced to remove Fox channels from the Roku platform.”

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Last-minute TV carriage disputes among pay-TV distributors and content holders have become customary, especially ahead of a marquee events such as the Super Bowl or NCAA March Madness. Roku has now brought the negotiation tactic to streaming video.

Fox said Roku’s last-minute strategy was a “poorly timed negotiating ploy” aimed at driving more favorable contract leverage.

“Roku’s threat to delete Fox apps from its customers’ devices is a naked effort to use its customers as pawns,” Fox said in a statement.

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On its Twitter social media app, Roku said people could still stream Fox programming through Fubo TV, Sling TV, Hulu With Live TV, and YouTube TV, among others.

“Many of these services offer a free trial,” Roku tweeted.

Roku, which ranks as the No. 1 streaming device ahead of Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Google Chromecast, reported $179 million in ad-generated platform revenue in the most-recent fiscal period.

 

Hulu Unveils Super Bowl Spot for Series from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King

Hulu has unveiled its Super Bowl commercial for upcoming original series “Castle Rock” from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King. The series premieres this summer exclusively on Hulu.

A psychological-horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse, “Castle Rock” stars André Holland, Melanie Lynskey, Sissy Spacek, Billy Skarsgård, Jane Levy and Scott Glenn.

The “Castle Rock” Super Bowl spot can be seen here: https://youtu.be/fwmhiqUPa28

Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason developed the project for television and serve as executive producers along with J.J. Abrams, Ben Stephenson and Liz Glotzer. “Castle Rock” is produced by Bad Robot Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

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