If you felt like you saw a lot of ads during Super Bowl LVII for movies, TV shows, streaming services and media properties and that there were fewer car ads, you weren’t alone. A new analysis of the  82 ads from 58 unique advertisers airing during the Super Bowl LVII by MediaRadar found that media and entertainment ads dominated Super Bowl LVII advertising while the number of auto ads declined precipitously.

Of the 58 companies that advertised the Super Bowl LVII, 16% showcased more than one brand, as did GM while most focused their attention on a single product, the analysis found.  

Advertisers spanned a range of 16 distinct product categories, with the top five product categories responsible for 75% (44 minutes) of the commercial run time, MediaRadar reported. 

Ranked by minutes of ads, the Top 5 categories were media & entertainment, technology, food, alcohol, and automotive.

Media & Entertainment was by far the largest category with 23 commercials from 13 companies. 

Big game viewers watched over 20 minutes of Entertainment advertisers from 19 brands. This was a mix of TV shows, game titles, upcoming films, and subscription streaming services, the researchers said. 

In addition, four media & entertainment brands ran 60-second ads including Tubi, Warner Bros (AIR) and Universal Pictures (Fast & Furious). 

Three and a half minutes were taken by subscription streaming services - Fox Nation, Netflix, Paramount+, and Tubi ran ads for the game. 

During 2022, MediaRadar said that its data showed more than $2.3 billion was spent advertising streaming services.

The game also featured a lot of movie trailers. Examples include:

• The Walt Disney Company captured the big game audience with 2.5 minutes airing spots for Disney (90-second spot), Guardians of The Galaxy, and Indiana Jones - Dial of Destiny. 
• Warner Bros. Pictures had three movies introducing new trailers:  The Flash (teamed up with Heineken’s non-alcoholic beer), AIR, and Creed 3 (game title), MediaRadar reported.

Among the other major categories, twelve commercials aired for food advertisers ranging from candy and snacks to soda brands. 

Tech advertisers weren’t far behind with nine commercials during the big game. 

Very notably for broadcasters who have long relied on automotive advertising, there were few automotive brands running Super Bowl ads this year, declining from 14 to just six brands. For example, Toyota pickups did not return from last year, nor Nissan’s EV - Ariya. BMW and Mercedes-Benz also did not renew, MediaRadar reported. 

In this analysis, MediaRadar’s data includes national advertising during the Super Bowl LVII aired on Sunday, February 12, 2023.  Local affiliate ads are stripped out, as well as, “house” ads placed for Fox and its subsidiaries. One exemption was made, to include ads placed by Tubi, the free streaming service owned by Fox. 

STAMFORD, CT.—Video streaming of major sporting events continues to rack up sizable numbers as the latest figures from NBC Sports attest.

Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports Group division that powers its live streaming, has been responsible for 4.37 billion minutes of live streamed content this year from Super Bowl LII, the Winter Olympics from PyeongChang, South Korea, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

[Read: NBC Olympics Coverage Included 2.17 Billion Total Streaming Minutes]

“To execute not just one but three major events of this size, scale, quality and stability in such a short duration is unheard of in the digital video delivery landscape,” said Eric Black, SVP and CTO, NBC Sports Digital and Playmaker Media.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app made coverage of the Olympic Games and Super Bowl available, while Telemundo.com, the Telemundo Deportes En Vivo app and the NBC Sports app streamed World Cup coverage.

Telemundo delivered nearly 1.96 billion live minutes of World Cup coverage to 15.5 million unique users, who generated 130 million live streams.

The Mexico-Sweden Group Stage finale from Russia peaked at 1.02 million concurrent livestreams – one of two events to ever hit the 1 million mark for NBC Sports.

Viewers live streamed 1.86 billion minutes of Winter Olympics coverage this year, and the average in-game minute audience for the Super Bowl totaled 2.02 million viewers, across multiple apps and websites, the network said.

STAMFORD, CONN.—NBC was billing February as the “Best Feb Ever” in the weeks prior and that title held true for its NBC Sports Digital platform, as the network has announced that it set a record in unique users for the month of February on NBC Sports Digital with 93 million, according to multiplatform data released by comScore. The surge of unique users came as NBC Sports Digital provided coverage for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LII and Premier League coverage.

Yahoo Sports-NBC Sports Network’s 93 million unique users beat out second-place ESPN’s monthly unique users in February by 31 percent, as ESPN generated 71 million unique users during the month.

In NBC Sports Digital’s history, February was the second best month in terms of unique users, only trailing August 2016, when it generated 110 million unique users during its coverage for the 2016 Summer Olympics, NASCAR, the Premier League’s opening weekends and NFL preseason games. This year topped previous high marks in February, including February 2017 (51 million) and the Sochi-led Olympics in February 2014 (64 million).

[NBC Olympics Coverage Included 2.17 Billion Total Streaming Minutes]

Yahoo Sports-NBC Sports Network reportedly delivered 721 million minutes of streamed desktop video throughout February, good enough for the top spot among comScore’s Sports category. That represented a 387 percent increase over February 2017 (148 million minutes).

In addition, NBC-owned Golf Channel Digital was up 24 percent year-over-year for total minutes streamed (27.2 million) in February. All four PGA Tour events during the month recorded their highest live stream minute totals, per NBC. Consumption of Golf Channel Digital content across its website and mobile app were also up 13 percent for page views (87 million) and 5 percent for unique devices (4.2 million) from 2017.

NILES, ILL.—There were more teams on the field U.S. Bank Stadium during Super Bowl LII than just the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. ATK Audiotek and Professional Wireless Systems were the main companies behind the on-field audio, with the pair choosing to go with Shure wireless microphones and in-ear monitors to serve as its primary RF systems.

From L-R, Cameron Stuckey (RF Technician), Jim Van Winkle (General Manager), and Gary Trenda (Lead RF Technician).

The on-field wireless needs covered the pregame presentation of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award to the presentation of the Lombardi Trophy to the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as ref microphones and audio for all musical acts. This setup was supported by a mix of the Axient Digital and Axient analog systems, plus Shure PSM 1000 in-ear monitors.

Referee miking was handled by Shure Axient with frequency diversity. The system features two lavalier mics feeding separate AXT100 bodypacks tuned to separate frequencies. There was also a custom-built mute switch by ATK Audiotek for the ref to control when he is heard. Two receivers were present, one using house power and the other a UPS battery system, while an Axient ShowLink backchannel was also used for remote monitoring and control of all transmitter parameters.

Shure also assisted in providing the wireless antenna system for the game. The Axient Digital used its Quadversity feature to extend coverage capability. In addition, all antennas were Shure’s HA-8089 helical. Long cable runs were addressed with an RF over fiber optic cable system.

Additional gear used during the game included two AD610 Access Points, 12 IEM mixes and Shure’s Wireless Workbench software to tie the entire system together.

MINNEAPOLIS—This winter’s consistently frigid weather is on the mind of NBC Sports, as they prepare to produce Super Bowl LII on Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Atlanta Falcons' Alex Mack (#51) prepares to snap the ball against the New England Patriots at Super Bowl LI in Houston.

Although the stadium is enclosed and has drive-in facilities for broadcasters, there’s not enough space inside to hold all the equipment needed to cover the Super Bowl. As a result, some of the production trucks and trailer will have to be left outside in the Minnesota Vikings Players’ parking lot.

“The major obstacle [in producing Super Bowl LII] is being in Minneapolis in February,” said NBC Sunday Night Football Senior Technical Manager John Roché. “Obviously it’s not the best weather in the world.”

That said, NBC Sports knew what they were getting when Super Bowl LII was awarded to Minneapolis, where the average Feburary temperature is around 23°. This is why the network has arranged for a gigantic heated framed tent to sit over the outside production compound, to keep the equipment and its operators warm.

“We start planning for this months in advance,” said Roché. “We’ve done our homework.”

A MASSIVE OPERATION

Producing the Super Bowl LII game itself, plus the pre-show and post-show (the half-time show is produced by third-party contractor Touchdown Entertainment), is a massive operation. Ken Goss, senior vice president of remote operations and production planning for NBC Sports Group, estimates that around 400 people will be in Minneapolis to handle all aspects of the NBC Sports’ broadcast; including production people, technical crews, on-air talent and everyone else.

The heart of the Super Bowl LII broadcast operation will be a suite of production trucks belonging to NEP, NBC Sports’ regular season supplier of mobile production trucks. “We’re utilizing NEP’s ND1 A, B, C and D,” said Roché. “We’re also using ND7 A and B, just because of the amount of cameras, tape machines, and EVSes that we have going.”

BIGGER AND BETTER

NBC Sports is taking its experience with its Sunday Night Football series and supersizing it for the event.

“We always enhance our normal Sunday night coverage—which is pretty extensive—with additional cameras and new technology for the Super Bowl,” said Tim DeKime, vice president of NFL Operations for NBC Sports. To this end, NBC Sports will be covering Super Bowl LII with a mix of Sony HDC-2500 (1080p), HDC4300 (4K) and HDC-4800 (4K slomo) video cameras.

“We’re utilizing Sony HDC-P1R cameras for our Steadicams and POVs,” said Roché. NBC Sports will also be using 12 fixed pylon cameras; “six in each end zone,” he said. Most of the cameras will be equipped with Canon lenses. NBC Sports will also be attaching Fuji cine lenses to its 4K robotic cameras, which are used for the network’s augmented reality video content (for overlaying graphic images on live screen shots).

NBC Sports will enlist NEP's ND1 and ND7 fleet to cover the game.

Backing up these cameras will be a suite of video servers; including 12 six-channel EVS XT3 and ten 12-channel EVS XT3 servers. As well, “we have one XT4 that we’re utilizing, seven EVS IPDirectors, and five Sony 4500 servers,” said Roché. “In total, we will have 192 channels of video. So every single camera that is out there will be iso’d [recorded to their own separate video channel].”

The reason every Super Bowl LII camera feed will be recorded is because things happen that don’t always make the live switched broadcast. “NBC goes on the philosophy that we never want to miss anything, so the public doesn’t miss anything,” Roché said. “Things happen in the background that the fans at home cannot see, so we’re able to cover that with all the isos.”

Finally, more than 130 microphones will be used to cover on-air talent, player interviews and natural sound from the game.

WHAT’S NEW

For the first time at the Super Bowl, NBC Sports will be operating a “High SkyCam” alongside its regular SkyCam; both of which fly above the play on wires.

Unlike the original SkyCam, which rises up to 40 feet above the play, the High SkyCam can operate at heights up to 80 feet. This means that High SkyCam has far more clearance above the field; a vantage point that opens up many new possibilities.

“In theory we could keep it [High Skycam] overhead the defense—all 22 players—and not interfere with game play,” said DeKime. “We have used it for four, five regular season broadcasts, and we will use it for the Super Bowl as well.” (Due to its lower elevation, the regular Skycam usually stays behind the quarterback during play.)

A second newcomer is an Aggreko UPS (uninterrupted power supply) to ensure that the production has power; no matter what. This is not your standard-sized home office UPS: Aggreko’s UPS is so big that it comes on its own 53-foot trailer. The UPS will be powered by one of four 1000 kVa diesel generators, with the other three powering the game and pre-/post-game broadcast facilities.

A NEW STADIUM HELPS

The fact that the enclosed U.S. Bank Stadium is only two years old does mitigate playing Super LII in Minnesota during a bitterly cold winter. Not only are the majority of NBC Sports production trailers able to park inside the stadium’s indoor loading docks, but the glass roof overhead will keep the playing field relatively warm and dry. (In contrast, the Nov. 26, 2017 Grey Cup football championship in Canada was played outside in Ottawa’s blowing snow and cold winds.)

Super Bowl LII will be played in U.S. Bank Stadium, which can seat up to 66,200.

Meanwhile, “the stadium is very well wired with fiber and SMPTE cable,” said Goss. “It makes our life easier, although we still have to supplement that due to the massive amounts of equipment that we have.”

This extensive cabling will be a boon for the NBC Sports Super Bowl LII pre-/post-game show, which has outdoor booth and standup locations in front of the stadium. “They’ve been putting in connections where we haven’t seen it at other facilities,” said Tom Popple, NBC Sports’ vice president of studio operations, who is producing the pre- and post-game shows. “It’s just some really great infrastructure.”

All told, the 400-strong NBC Sports production unit is ready to tackle Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis no matter what winter throws at them. “We have a real solid team,” said Goss, “and they’re at their top performance when it comes to the Super Bowl.”