Bridgestone Says It Has Reached Out To NFL, NBC Regarding M.I.A.'s Halftime Slip

Bridgestone Americas, the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show since '08, has "reached out” to the NFL and NBC over the behavior of rapper M.I.A., who “blurted out an obscenity and raised her middle digit on screen during Madonna's halftime concert,” according to Brian Steinberg of AD AGE. A Bridgestone spokesperson said that the company has “received complaining emails from ‘multiple different venues’ and had reached out to the sports league and the broadcaster to discuss possible solutions.” NBC and the NFL have “already issued statements of apology, with the NFL saying the incident was ‘inappropriate’ and NBC acknowledging its delay system for obscuring or blocking out such action failed” (ADAGE.com, 2/6). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Eriq Gardner noted various broadcast lawyers said that NBC is “unlikely to face any fines over M.I.A.’s act” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/6). The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Schatz & Stewart note if the FCC “found that NBC broke indecency rules, each NBC affiliate that aired the Super Bowl could face a fine of as much as $325,000.” That could amount “to millions of dollars for NBC itself, but only if regulators apply the maximum penalty.” NBC would “pay the fines for the stations that it owns directly” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/7).

MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF: ESPN.com's J.A. Adande said, "If you’re going try to maintain some type of relevance to what’s going on ... try to hire people that maybe everyone has heard of so they can’t benefit. I’m sure people weren’t talking about M.I.A. to the degree they are now before this incident, so she made a name for herself” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/6). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said this is good publicity for M.I.A., because the Super Bowl “doesn’t allow young people near its halftime stage" ("Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable," ESPN2, 2/6). ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said of M.I.A., “I understand she’s British and it seemed that this was deliberate and planned in order to make herself famous in America. You know what I would do? I would deport her” ("PTI," ESPN, 2/6).

PROS & CONS TO HALFTIME SHOW: In Atlanta, David Markiewicz noted Madonna “actually got paid nothing” to perform at halftime. Getting a chance “to display your talents and everything else in front of so many viewers on TV and at the stadium is considered such a potential career boost that performers are willing to do it for free.” Madonna, like “other top performers at the Super Bowl, also received countless perks including transportation and set-up costs, which could run into the millions.” Markiewicz wrote it is “such a good deal, in fact, some entertainers might be willing to actually pay to get up there and perform” (AJC.com, 2/6). Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, “I have attended the Grammy Awards. They don’t stop it in the middle and have a football game for 25 minutes, so why in the world are we doing this? ... I think it’s time to end the halftime show” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/6). CBSSPORTS.com’s Ray Ratto wrote if the NFL “wants to save itself from even this tepid level of annoyance while making the halftime show something people would actually watch and talk about the next day, it's time to get rid of the music entirely.” It is “dated, bland, lip-synched nonsense by people and bands that only appeal to 50-year-olds in denial about being no longer being hipsters.” He instead recommends having a comedian perform (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/6).