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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Feb 5, 2016
February 5, 2016
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Super Bowl 50, annoying hype and all:
Fourteen days of hype leading up to three hours of football --the one day where everyone puts aside their differences and stops doing what they normally do. Including, sometimes, the team you're rooting for.
Super Bowl 50 (Yeah, we know --L in Roman numerals but they decided not to go that way) cranks up Sunday on CBS with kickoff time scheduled for 6:30 pm (Eastern) between the AFC's Denver Broncos and the NFC's Carolina Panthers at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. The Panthers are a six-point favorite, according to Oddsshark.com and Vegas.com.
For what it's worth, every year for the past 12 years, EA Sports runs their Madden football video game to simulate the Super Bowl contest. This year, the outcome had the Panthers winning, 24-20. This simulation has predicted the last nine out of 12 winners, and last year predicted TOM BRADY would have 335 yards and four touchdowns, just seven yards away from the actual total.Super Bowl TV:
There's four hours of pre-game show BEFORE the game even gets started, starting at 2 pm (Eastern) and hosted by "The NFL Today" hosts JAMES BROWN, TONY GONZALEZ, BILL COWHER, BART SCOTT and BOOMER ESIASON, along with IAN EAGLE, GREG GUMBEL, TRENT GREEN and AMY TRASK, NFL Insider JASON LA CANFORA, as well as reporters TRACY WOLFSON, EVAN WASHBURN and ALLIE LaFORCE, and contributor JIM ROME. CBS's broadcasters for the big game itself will be the usual suspects: JIM NANTZ (play-by-play), PHIL SIMMS (analyst), and TRACY WOLFSON and EVAN WASHBURN (doing the sideline stuff). This will be the network's 19th broadcast of the big game... the most of any network.
The telecast will have 70 cameras (!), including one mounted atop a tower in the Great America amusement park. There'll also be 256 microphones... and one helluva mixing board!
It'll also have never-before-seen features with a complement of 5K cameras covering the event and a new EyeVision 360 replay system that gives viewers a 360-degree perspective and higher resolution.
The EyeVision 360 system, comprised of 36 cameras strung around the upper deck of Levi's Stadium, has the ability to freeze the moment and revolve around the play, then continue to play out the scene. It allows viewers to have a look in a moment's time from what the quarterback sees in the pocket to the safety's perspective or other points on the field.
And, for the first time in its history, the broadcast will also have Pylon Cam technology and audio. The eight high-resolution, high-definition, point-of-view cameras housed inside the pylons also will have microphones embedded in them to enhance the natural sound of the game. (Lane)Non-Super Bowl TV:
As you know, for people who can't stomach the four-hour pre-game and the game itself, there's always the Kitten Bowl at Noon (Eastern) on the Hallmark Channel, and the Puppy Bowl at 3 pm (Eastern) on Animal Planet. The Hallmark Channel has player profiles for the participants, as well as a preview of their halftime show. Over on Animal Planet, there's a profile of the starting lineup and a list of the shelters they came from as well as a way for you to adopt a puppy of your own!Some ads to look forward to:
--Bud Light, featuring AMY SCHUMER and SETH ROGEN showing Seth's hairy back and Amy plucking her eyebrows.
--Shock Top, featuring comedian T.J. MILLER trading insults with its mascot, Wedgehead.
--LG Electronics, with actor LIAM NEESON playing a man from the future. It's directed by RIDLEY SCOTT, in his first return to the Super Bowl since his iconic "1984" ad for Apple.
--Snickers, which continues its "You're Not You When You're Hungry" campaign with MARILYN MONROE singing "Happy Birthday" to mark the Super Bowl's 50th anniversary.
--Kia, with actor CHRISTOPHER WALKEN and a sock puppet.
--Wix.com, which got the "Kung Fu Panda" bear, Po, to do the commercial for its websites.
This will be the final year that Anheuser-Busch's contract allows them to air multiple ads during the game for a big discount. Some advertisers who will *not* be running this year that have run commercials in previous years: Go Daddy, Nationwide, Nissan and Mercedes Benz. -
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