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NBC Likely Won't Dwell On Deflategate During Super Bowl, But Pregame Could Discuss

NBC's Al Michaels on Thursday said if partner Cris Collinsworth "decides to bring up" Deflategate during the Super Bowl XLIX telecast because he "feels the controversy has somehow created a distraction that is having an impact on the game, that's his prerogative," according to Bob McManaman of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Michaels: "But in terms of telling the story, everybody knows the story at this point, so unless there's something brand new, no. Clearly there will be references to it, but not a lot. ... Our feeling is this, the story is still evolving. This is an 11-day story right now and it's going to be 14 days old by Sunday. The pregame show is on for almost five hours so clearly it's going to be something that will be discussed by several people on the show. But when we get to the game, we will only fold it in if ... something brand new takes place because this is not going to be a rehash. We don't want to do a rehash. We don't have time to do a rehash, especially once the game starts" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 1/30). NBC said that it requested an interview with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "but was told -- as of Thursday -- that it was unlikely to be granted, barring a change of heart." In Miami, Barry Jackson wrote though the commissioner’s busy schedule "was cited as an explanation, this makes Goodell look like he’s afraid of being grilled by Bob Costas" (MIAMIHERALD.com, 1/29).

FILLER CONTENT: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes while NBC "has six hours to fill before" its game telecast, nowhere on NBC’s list "is the only feature that matters. One entitled: Where The Balls Are." NBC "will wind up not giving" Deflategate the "proper attention and huge play it deserves." If NBC "really wanted to do justice to this story, it would have already produced a lengthy pregame feature on it. And would be hyping it to the max." NBC Sports Exec Producer Sam Flood said that the pregame show "will offer 'appropriate coverage' of the controversy." NBC likely will use Peter King and Mike Florio to "report any new info they have gathered, and maybe offer some of their own opinions." NBC "could easily advance the story, while creating an entertaining scenario for those willing to slog through the pregame marathon" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/30).

KEEPING IT CASUAL: USA TODAY's Reid Cherner writes NBC "knows the non-football fan will heavily outnumber an audience that might care as much about Katy Perry at halftime, and the commercials during the game, as it does with the play on the field." Super Bowl XLIX producer Fred Gaudelli: "You want to do something for them. And you are certainly acknowledging that most of the audience is not a football fan on this day or else we'd be having 50 million people for every NFL game there is" (USA TODAY, 1/30). Michaels: "Not only do you have people who love football all the time and would watch most Sunday night games as a good part of your audience, but a lot of people that may watch one game a year, or a couple of games a year and are not very well-versed on certain stories. ... Often what we’ll do, without necessarily saying the exact words, is kind of lay it there along the lines is 'We know if you follow the sport, you know this, but some of you may not. This is fun, this is interesting, this is relevant, so we want to bring you in there.' ... The technology is so much greater than it’s been, but you don’t want the technology to overwhelm the game, you want it to enhance the game. ... You don’t let technology take you beyond what it should" (OKLAHOMAN. 1/29).

A NICE RING TO IT: MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds reported NBC Sports is taking a "page out of its Olympic programming playbook" by "teaming with owned and affiliated stations to present Super Bowl Zone, a Big Game preview on Saturday night." The 30-minute program, "produced by NBC Sports and featuring affiliate hosts," will air at 7:30pm ET. Nearly 150 NBC affiliated-and-owned stations "are scheduled to run the Super Bowl Zone, which is co-hosted by NBC Sports commentators Carolyn Manno and Kathryn Tappen." Saturday "will mark the first time NBC has put the Super Bowl Zone in play" (MULTICHANNEL.com, 1/28). YAHOO SPORTS' Charles Robinson wrote this year "might be as close as the league has gotten to the holy grail: a game that captures both the largest TV viewership and ratings in Super Bowl history." The first half of that "elusive double -- total viewership -- has seen a record set four out of the last five years." Last year hit a new high of 112.2 million viewers. The latter half in ratings "hasn't been snapped since" '82," when CBS got a 49.1 rating for 49ers-Bengals. Former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson: "You never use the word 'never' in our business, but there have been some pretty dramatic Super Bowls since 1982. None of them have eclipsed that record. I don't think it's insurmountable, but it's going to be hard to exceed" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/29).

COUNTER OFFENSIVE: DEADLINE.com's Lisa de Moraes wrote Super Bowl counter-programming "is a growing genre." AMC’s "The Walking Dead" marathon "isn’t the only show marathon offered against the game." BBC America also is running a marathon of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," while Bravo has "The Real Housewives Of Atlanta." Investigation Discovery is offering "Wives With Knives," while Comedy Central has episodes of "Key & Peele" and "Futurama." Discovery said that it "was adding to the pantheon of Super Bowl alternative 'bowls', unveiling Toddler Bowl, which it will telecast across networks TLC, Discovery Life Channel and Discovery Family Channel." Another staple of Super Bowl counter-programming, Animal Planet's "Puppy Bowl," is "celebrating its 10th anniversary." Hallmark Channel "jumped into the adorable babies bowl business last year, launching Kitten Bowl." In its second outing, Mary Carillo "has joined John Sterling as a sportscaster, and producers herded 92 cats, up from last year’s 71." Hallmark said that it "has organized watch parties in 20 cities across the country" (DEADLINE.com, 1/29).

JUST THE ADS PLEASE: AD AGE's Jeanine Poggi noted Dish Network "is putting a spin on its commercial-skipping technology for the Super Bowl." Instead of "automatically skipping commercials, AutoHop will let customers instead skip the game and only watch the ads." The "Reverse AutoHop" feature "will be available the day after the Super Bowl to skip the game and watch commercials back-to-back. Hopper customers must have the Prime Time Anytime feature enabled for NBC prior to the game" (ADAGE.com, 1/29).

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