While Super Bowl LIII saw the lowest overnight ratings in a decade, it may "prove to a be a winning night for video streaming companies," according to CNBC's Sara Eisen. CNBC's Julia Boorstin noted streaming services were "out in force," with Amazon, Netflix and Hulu all promoting new shows through Super Bowl ads. She noted Amazon spent an estimated $25M during the Super Bowl. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's suite for the Super Bowl, and with Amazon "already streaming ten 'Thursday Night Football' games," this could fuel "speculation that Bezos can make a play for more NFL rights or even" the Seahawks. Boorstin said Amazon has "become a big player in advertising, spending an estimated billions of dollars" each year ("Closing Bell," CNBC, 2/4).
MAKING THE CALL: In N.Y., Emily Smith cited sources as saying that Bezos killed a $20M Super Bowl ad for his spaceflight company, Blue Origin, after it "was revealed his mistress," Lauren Sanchez, had "helped shoot footage for the commercial." Instead, Bezos had a "last-minute commercial created" for the Washington Post, which he owns. Sources said that Bezos "nixed the space exploration ad when his affair" with Sanchez "went public" in recent weeks. Sanchez has been "shooting aerial footage of Blue Origin rocket launches and landings for Bezos" (NYPOST.com, 2/4).
FROM THE FUTURE: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Alexandra Bruell notes Sprint, A-B InBev's Michelob Ultra, Intuit’s TurboTax and Simplisafe were among the Super Bowl advertisers with commercials featuring robots in key parts, a "creative trend that reflects the mood and anxieties of a society confronted with new, life-altering technology and artificial intelligence." While the ads may have "reflected a societal anxiety or disruption, their tone was largely positive." But the robo-centric Super Bowl ads "didn’t make that much of a stir on social media as they aired." Five commercials featuring robots and AI accounted for only 2% of overall "digital share of voice" across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and searches (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/5).
