HD Streams and Lombardi Dreams
January 13, 2014 9:16 AM   Subscribe

How does the Super Bowl work on the NFL Gamepass streaming service?

If I stream the Super Bowl using NFL Gamepass will I:

-get to watch the multiple hours of pre-game show?

-get to see the trophy presentation?

-get to see tha halftime show and much-hyped commercials?

I'm asking b/c the streamed broadcasts I've seen have seemed to cut off pretty abruptly after the game ends.

Anyone use Gamepass last year or have any info? Thanks!

Note: I do not have access to over-the-air or anything like that, so please assume Gamepass is my only option.
posted by joelhunt to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)
 
Gamepass actually isn't the way to go here. In the past few years the broadcasters have actually done it themselves for free online.

Looks like Fox is doing it again no worries there and nothing to pay for/authenticate.

It looks like it'll include the halftime show

Fox’s Super Bowl coverage is slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Feb. 2, live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The stream of the Super Bowl will be available at foxsportsgo.com and on the FoxSportsGo mobile app for iOS devices. The Super Bowl webcast will include the halftime show featuring Bruno Mars.

Though no mention of anything else.

This article from last year mentions the halftime show as well and mentions commercials on-demand afterwards. So I'd assume no tv ads (though I'm sure there'll be other ads) and no pregame/postgame. But who knows.
posted by jourman2 at 3:20 PM on January 13, 2014


Best answer: I only started using Gamepass this year but this is what I expect:

* no pre-game show except whatever analysts or show is on the NFL Network, which is included in the Gamepass package. Post-game press interviews should be on the NFL Network. However, you can usually change the audio from Broadcast to the local team's radio broadcast so you can hear some stuff before the game starts.

* definitely the trophy presentation. I can't imagine it otherwise, but I'll add a comment if they skip the AFC/NFC conference trophies.

* the halftime show/US commercials - I can't guarantee it, but 80 - 90% sure they'll show them. Even this weekend, one game had a placeholder screen alternating with either jazzy or epic music during halftime. I can't see them pulling this crap for the Super Bowl.

Two really important things about NFL Gamepass: the blackout restrictions for Canada are ridiculous. I get around it using something like unblock-us or adfreetime. Also, the stream has generally been about 45 seconds to a minute behind real-time. So it's fine if you're with your friends and not tweeting/texting/chatting/making bets. But sometimes it feels like forever.

If this doesn't work for you, maybe the Mediahint Firefox extension will work on the Fox Sports website. I didn't have any such luck with the CBS or Fox streams this past weekend, but that's just me. Good thing we've got the Conference Championship games to test things out!
posted by zix at 7:04 PM on January 13, 2014


Wow, the stream didn't show the trophy presentations for either conference! I'm pretty gobsmacked.
posted by zix at 7:01 PM on January 19, 2014


For future reference:

* no pre-game show, no video of the US national anthem (there was audio due to the local radio broadcast option), the stream started a bit before the coin toss.

* most US commercials were shown. There were a few times a placeholder screen came on but my husband speculates that was for local area commercials.

* got to see the halftime show.

* Lombardi trophy presentation and MVP interview was shown and the stream ended shortly after so no Disney commercial if there was one.

The stream did have some buffering issues partway through the 2nd quarter but it wasn't constant and it's difficult to say whether the NFL servers were being slammed or folks in my area were using the internet a lot.
posted by zix at 8:29 AM on February 4, 2014


« Older I didn't know Google Image Search paid that well!   |   How much can where I work affect where I can work... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.