CBS Putting On Full-Court Press For Super Bowl, Will Deploy 62 Cameras

CBS will be headquartered in New Orleans’ Jackson Square for its coverage originating from Super Bowl XLVII, and the sets will be "used by 15 different shows from nine CBS divisions, from the main network to cable channels to online to radio," according to the AP. CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said, "We’ve never done anything like this before." The Jackson Square shoots will give CBS "plenty of opportunities to highlight New Orleans’ recovery from Hurricane Katrina as the city hosts its first Super Bowl since the storm." Its coverage will "include a special called 'New Orleans: Let The Good Times Roll' hosted by musician Wynton Marsalis airing at noon on Super Bowl Sunday" (AP, 1/8). BROADCASTING & CABLE's Tim Baysinger reported "aside from sports programming," shows such as "CBS This Morning," "CBS Evening News," "Face the Nation," "The Talk," "The Late Late Show" and "omg!Insider" will all broadcast from New Orleans during Super Bowl week. "The Talk" co-host Julie Chen said, "The Super Bowl is not only the biggest event in sports; it is actually the biggest cultural event in the world." She added, "We thought the Super Bowl would be the perfect event to take our show on the road." Chen said that the week’s shows will "feature a mix of entertainment and sports personalities as well as the local flavor that New Orleans has to offer." Rock group Train "will serve as The Talk’s house band all week" (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 1/8). In N.Y., Matthew Flamm noted the "CBS Evening News" will broadcast from New Orleans the "Friday and Saturday before the game" (CRAINSNEWYORK.com, 1/8).

FROM ALL ANGLES: CBS Exec Producer & VP/Production Harold Bryant said that the net will "deploy about 62 cameras" to cover Super Bowl XLVII, up from about "20 during playoff games and about 15 during the season." USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand notes after NBC last year "drew 2.1 million users to the first Super Bowl live stream, CBS will have the first live streaming of the halftime show." CBS will have "more than 50 hours" from the CBS Sports Network "plus more than 70 on-site hours from recently launched CBS Sports Radio." CBS will "erect four outdoor sets in New Orleans" (USA TODAY, 1/9).

YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Etan Vlessing reported CTV is "teaming up with the NFL to live-stream" the game to its online users. The exclusive deal will see CTV.ca "simulcast CTV’s conventional TV broadcast of the Super Bowl and NFL playoff games, starting this weekend with live streaming of the divisional match-ups." The online play will be "geo-gated, and feature the same Canadian commercials seen on the CTV broadcast" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 1/8).