NBC Sports Producer Fred Gaudelli, who will be producing Super Bowl XLVI Sunday, said that NBC's "most important responsibility is that the broadcast reflect the magnitude of the event," according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Gaudelli said, "We must have every play that could be termed as controversial nailed down with irrefutable evidence." NBC Sports Director Drew Esocoff said that he "wants defining looks of every critical play." He "reminds himself to anticipate the spectacular, and wants his camera people in place if something happens, especially on the sidelines." Esocoff: "It would be very easy for a group of camera guys to get caught up in a moment and not be cognizant of whether a player had possession, and had his feet in bounds." Gaudelli said that the event "being streamed live to online viewers and mobile phones will have no impact on the television broadcast." Unlike previous broadcasts on other nets, NBC will "not do a taped package to introduce the players." Instead, the lineup introductions will be "aired as the players leave the locker room for the tunnel." NBC had singer Faith Hill "shoot a new opener for the game and there will also be a change in the display graphic" (SI.com, 2/2).
TEST RUN: DEADSPIN.com's Jeremy Repanich noted this past Monday, two NBC crew members went to Fishers High School, in Fishers, Ind., to "teach the school's football team the Patriots and Giants playbooks, offensive and defensive." On Friday, the Fishers Tigers will "take the field in Lucas Oil Stadium to run a dress rehearsal, so that NBC can work out the camera positions for the whole assortment of formations and plays." Gaudelli said, "I'll have a guy run 100 yards up the near sideline as close to it as he can. I want a guy two yards, five yards, and 10 yards behind him. At every increment, I want to see which camera got the best look." Gaudelli "has watched 30 hours of game film to come up with the formations and plays he wants to rehearse." The planning for Super Bowl XLVI "began back in the summer of 2010, when Gaudelli and his crew headed to Indianapolis to start scouting camera positions." They have returned "three times this year to refine the placement of NBC's 40 cameras" (DEADSPIN.com, 2/2).
IN-GAME INTRODUCTIONS: When asked what viewers can expect from NBC's Super Bowl broadcast, analyst Cris Collinsworth said, "I hope you get a trip around the field. Typically, most fans know the coach, the quarterback, the running back and the receivers, but most games -- and I think this one will be no exception -- are usually decided by the other 18 guys on the field collectively. While we're going to feature all the stars, it's the offensive linemen versus the defensive linemen ... and so I hope at the end of the game, you feel like you're acquainted with, at least, all 22 guys on the field, that you have some understanding of their jobs." Collinsworth added, "I really want people to understand the depth of the game ... there's going to be probably two-thirds of the audience that probably this will be the second or third football game they've watched all year. I don't want to invite people to our party and not introduce them to everybody on the field. I want people to have some comfort level with what's going on because ultimately, we'd like them to come back and watch us on Sunday night next year" (SI.com, 2/2). Collinsworth: "It's all-consuming trying to imagine every possible thing that could come up and be a part of a Super Bowl broadcast. The exciting part about it is you are on the high wire, and there is an element of danger to it" (OKLAHOMAN, 2/3).
BITTERSWEET GIG: In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley noted Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and CB Charles Woodson will "offer pre-game commentary" ahead of Sunday's matchup. Rodgers will be "part of NBC’s six hours of pre-game programming," while Woodson will be "part of the NFL Network’s 8 and one-half hours of pre-game coverage." On not playing in this year's Super Bowl, Rodgers said, "It’s kind of tough, but I have known the NBC people for awhile -- (president, programming) Jon Miller of NBC Sports, (former chairman) Dick Ebersol and obviously Bob Costas, Collinsworth and Al Michaels and the guys who come and do our production meetings (on 'Sunday Night Football'). I have a great relationship with those men and women. I have a lot of respect for them and the job they do with ‘Sunday Night Football.’ So it’s going to be fun to be able to spend some time with them in Indy" (JSONLINE.com, 2/2).
MAKING TV HISTORY? In Philadelphia, Alex Lee notes the past two Super Bowls were the "most watched in history." NBC has "pulled out all the stops to ensure that trend continues and, according to NBC Sports chairman Mark Lazarus, they expect that it will." Lazarus said, "We've had two great game in to drive viewership, a great rivalry, a great story line. We have two teams from the East Coast that will stay with the broadcast until the end. It has the ability to succeed the last 2 years" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 2/3). Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said of the Super Bowl, "I hope for NBC it becomes the No. 1 watched program in the history of television.” He added, “It's the largest appointment television product … in America, if not the world. You talk about what people are paying for ads.” The Super Bowl broadcast is a “time to reach a mass audience when families are together, when good things are happening and it's probably the only time that people watch the ads with as much interest as they watch the game. ... The Super Bowl draws so many people it’s the one appointment television where people can attract a large audience” (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 2/3).
PIRATE TV: In N.Y., Golding & Li write Patriots QB Tom Brady "copped to enjoying stolen cyber goods yesterday, casually admitting that he watched last year's Super Bowl through a pirated Internet stream." Brady: "Last year, I was rehabbing my foot in Costa Rica, watching the game on an illegal Super Bowl Web site, and now I'm actually playing in the game, so it's pretty cool." As Brady was "gabbing in Indianapolis, federal prosecutors in New York announced the arrest of a Michigan man for allegedly operating some of the most popular illegal sports-streaming Web sites" (N.Y. POST, 2/3).
