Super Bowl XLVI To Be Streamed Online

Added on Dec 20, 2011 by Scott in

NFL

NBC and the NFL are officially shifting into the internet age. For the first time in its history, the Super Bowl will be able to be watched on something other than a television. This season’s big game, XLVI, will be legally live streamed on the NBC and NFL websites for those who subscribe to the NFL Mobile app via Verizon. This is an unprecedented move and represents the league’s progressive vision of embracing burgeoning technologies.

In addition to the Super Bowl, NBC’s broadcast of Wildcard Saturday and the 2012 Pro Bowl will be available online as well. So, for those who don’t have the luxury of viewing football on a 60-inch HDTV in a secluded underground man cave can now enjoy all the crushing hits and long touchdowns on a 15-inch laptop, 9-inch iPad or four-inch smart phone.

With online viewing of television shows and movies increasing by the day, it only made sense for the NFL to make their most profitable asset available on as many platforms as possible. Just a couple of years ago it would’ve been inconceivable to think diehard sports fans would watch anything on a tiny phone screen, but that is no longer the case.

Now, as the internet savvy crowd knows all too well, the Super Bowl has kinda sorta been streamed online for the last few years, illegally. By streaming the game through legal channels, the NFL is hoping to avoid pirates from hijacking the broadcast.

This also marks a welcome change in philosophy for the once proud Peacock network. NBC has been justifiably criticized for their handling of the Olympics in recent years by showing many events on tape delay long after the results were posted online. New sports czar Mark Lazarus has vowed the entire London Olympics will be broadcast live on the net or television.

Super Bowl XLVI will be played in Indianapolis on February 5th.

Source: Hollywood Reporter