Comcast announced Tuesday that NBCUniversal will stream the Super Bowl, including Katy Perry's halftime performance and the midseason premiere of "The Blacklist," for free as part of 11 hours of programming on Feb. 1.
The "Super Stream Sunday" content, as NBCUniversal is calling it, will include the network's pregame and postgame programing, the actual Super Bowl game between the New England Patriots and
Seattle Seahawks, and "The Blacklist," according to Bloomberg.
"'Super Stream Sunday' builds off of NBCUniversal's commitment to create broader TV Everywhere opportunities for our consumers,"
Alison Moore, general manager of NBCUniversal, said in a Comcast statement. "We are leveraging the massive digital reach of the Super Bowl to help raise overall awareness of TV Everywhere by allowing consumers to explore our vast TVE offering with this special one-day-only access."
Viewers usually have to enter pay-TV credentials in order to watch network TV on the web, Bloomberg noted.
While the announcement sounds like a huge Super Bowl giveaway by Comcast and
NBCUniversal, Forbes' Amit Chowdhry said there is a bigger strategy at play, and that is exposure.
"What's the catch? NBC wants to increase the awareness of its TV Everywhere service, which lets users access content on multiple devices through a cable subscription," Chowdhry wrote. "Last year, NBC distributed over 140 TV shows through the TV Everywhere service — up over 50 percent from the previous year."
"There is a growing number of cord cutters spreading across the country," he continued. "NBC is hoping that the preview of the TV Everywhere service will convince more people to sign up for cable subscriptions. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation, the largest cable company and Internet Service Provider in the U.S."
Ad Week reported that NBC streamed the Super Bowl in 2012 but did not include the halftime show or one of its top programs afterward. "The Blacklist," which will air on Thursday, will be making its midseason return during its special Super Bowl time slot.
"While the event is really just great marketing for the Sports Live app, it's also a pretty nice Super Bowl gift for anyone who can't be in their living room on Sunday night," AdWeek reported. "This will be the only time 'The Blacklist' will air on a Sunday. On February 5th, it will return to its regularly scheduled Thursday spot."
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