NBCUniversal Using Various Networks To Promote Super Bowl XLVI Ahead Of Game

NBCUniversal announced that it will surround its coverage of Super Bowl XLVI with programming on a variety of channels ranging from sports to news to entertainment. Numerous NBC properties and programs will have a live presence in Indianapolis to cover the game. NBC Sports Network will have more than 18 hours of live coverage including the first ever “Costas Tonight: Live from the Super Bowl” and daily editions of “NBC Sports Talk: Live from the Super Bowl.” For the first time ever, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” will be on the road and have a total of four shows from Indianapolis. This includes the first-ever live "Late Night" show on Sunday night following Super Bowl XLVI. Golf Channel will also make an appearance with David Feherty hosting a special “Feherty Live” stage show from Indianapolis Friday night, which will air as a one-hour special Saturday at 10:00pm ET on Golf Channel. Other NBCU entities that will have a live presence in Indianapolis include "Today," "Access Hollywood," "E! News," and the Weather Channel. Meanwhile, Universal Parks and Resorts in L.A. and Orlando will help promote NBC’s coverage of the game by featuring NBC Sports-produced trailers and video on their CityWalk Astrovision screens throughout Super Bowl week. Signage for the game will appear on billboards throughout the parks (NBC Universal). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand reports G4 will "air a special on gadgets meant to improve Super Bowl viewing," while Telemundo will "report for days from Indianapolis." NBCU Television Group CMO John Miller said, "We said to all the marketing executives, we want to make this week 'Super Bowl Week at NBCU.'" Meanwhile, Hiestand notes NFL Network "plans a record 100 hours of Super Bowl shows next week" (USA TODAY, 1/25).

I WON'T BLACK OUT? ADWEEK's Katy Bachman noted the "potential blackout of the Super Bowl on DirecTV in Boston has got lawmakers fretting and dashing off letters." U.S. Senators Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) both "sent letters to DirecTV and Sunbeam Television," while the state's 10 U.S. congressmen "also sent a letter." In the letters, lawmakers "urge the two companies to put aside their differences and clear the Super Bowl broadcast on Feb. 5," which airs on Sunbeam's WHDH-NBC in Boston. Since Jan. 14, DirecTV and Sunbeam have been "unable to come to a carriage agreement." If the two "remain at loggerheads, about 200,000 DirecTV subscribers in Boston will be unable to watch the biggest sporting event of the year" (ADWEEK.com, 1/24).