For football obsessives, we’re closing in on the biggest day of the year, and plans for the game are being formed. So Fox Sports Go, a new service from the Fox Sports network, has decided your need for nonstop Super Bowl XLVIII action is the perfect time to show off its online and mobile authentication service. The application will stream the event as part of a one day “preview” of the service.
The biggest day in sports (and commercials. Seriously, probably more so for commercials.) will get its stream on February 2nd when the Seattle Seahawks take on the Denver Broncos in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Even the halftime show — featuring Bruno Mars and Red Hot Chili Peppers — will be included in the deal. The special preview of Fox Sports Go will go live at 12AM EST on Sunday, February 2nd, and stay active until 3am EST Monday, February 3rd. The live streaming service will be available on iPads (via the Fox Sports Go app) and on desktops at FoxSportsGo.com. The webcast will feature two live streams: one in English and one in Spanish, making it the first time the event will be both televised and streamed in Spanish in the United States.
Though the streaming is hardly news. In 2012, NBC broadcast the Super Bowl via a free Internet stream and attracted approximately 2.1 million viewers during that timeframe. Naturally CBS did much of the same with last year’s Super Bowl, attracting around 3 million viewers to their own stream on CBSSports.com.
The free preview of won’t simply be a one-item situation, but rather carry additional Super Bowl goodies and related programming — including the Pregame Show that typically airs before the game. Fox Sports’ other networks, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports 2, will provide additional content. If you’re looking to stream the game on your smartphone, however, you’ll need to have a Verizon Wireless mobile plan, as their deal with NFL via the NFL Mobile service gives them exclusive rights to streaming the Super Bowl in that manner.
The Fox Sports Go service is already available to pay-TV subscribers who get their cable through Comcast, AT&T U-verse, Cablevision Systems, Suddenlink, WideOpenWest, or Midcontinent, but opens up the availability beyond in order to encourage further sign-ups for the service with other cable and satellite TV partners. According to Clark Pierce, senior VP of mobile and advanced platforms for Fox Sports: “We want to showcase the product. This is as good an opportunity as we’re going to get.” But if you're hoping for a peek of that Full House Oikos commercial on the platform — think again. The advertisements on the app will likely vary from those seen on TV.
So there you have it, sports obsessives. Now you can watch your big game in a chair in front of a TV, on your laptop in your room, or on your iPad on the toilet, in the basement on your smartphone while avoiding those nosy neighbors and/or friends you invited over.
Super Bowl XLVIII will air Sunday, February 2, with kick-off at 5:30PM EST on FOX.
