As expected, the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI set an all-time TV audience record. Less expected, but not really surprising, was that the live online stream of the game did the same thing.
The NFL has announced that the NBCSports.com event drew more than 2.1 million visitors, a record for any sporting event shown via the Internet.
“The Super Bowl XLVI live stream exceeded our expectations in every way,” NBC Sports Group SVP of Business Development and Managing Director Digital Media Kevin Monaghan said in a release. “Increasingly, sports fans are looking to digital coverage as a complementary ‘second screen’ experience, and we delivered on that promise with unprecedented robust coverage. The record traffic that grew throughout the event, as well as the record high engagement numbers, underscores the complementary aspect of digital as an enhancement to our exceptional television coverage.”
The online version included a halftime report from Randy Moss (not that one) and yours truly from outside the Giants locker room in the bowels of Lucas Oil Stadium. The best news is that I refrained from shooting a middle finger to the camera, and Randy resisted the temptation to pretend to moon the crowd at home.