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YouTube's first Super Bowl halftime show may beat what's on TV
If you've seen enough Super Bowls, you know that the halftime show is usually your cue to step away from the TV -- unless you really like aging rock bands and lipsyncing pop stars, that is. YouTube is clearly aware that a lot of people tune out, as it's preparing to host its first-ever halftime show on February 1st. The live internet event will have YouTube stars like comedy duo Rhett and Link, EpicMealTime's Harley Morenstein and Freddie Wong performing everything from stunts to fake Super Bowl spots. It's too soon to tell whether or not the stream will become a yearly tradition. Between this and the usual flurry of ads, though, you may find yourself watching everything but football during the the big game. [Image credit: Rhett and Link, Flickr]
NFL wants artists to pay to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show
Being selected to play the Super Bowl Halftime Show is a huge deal -- there's no doubt about that. But this year, the NFL is asking potential acts for the 2015 installment to fork over a share of their post-game tour profits. According to The Wall Street Journal, the league is asking its top three candidates to pay to get the gig. The short list of acts has already been whittled down to Rhianna, Katy Perry and Coldplay, with the NFL seeking to agree on a direct contribution or another form of financial kickback while it makes its final decision. As you might expect, WSJ's sources say the request was met with a "chilly reception" across the board.
Engadget HD Podcast 384 - 2.5.14
While the Northeast is suffering through some heavy weather, Ben is getting ready to enjoy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 on Blu-ray, from a significantly sunnier locale. Regardless of your local forecast though, there's definitely a deluge of HD news and content to catch up on. After all, the recent Superbowl pulled in a live streaming record and was a testbed for NFL content services, which didn't necessarily make the grade for cord-cutting football fans. There's plenty in store this week, so don't miss out. Just head on down to the streaming links below for this week's episode of the Engadget HD Podcast. Hosts: Richard Lawler, Ben Drawbaugh Producer: Jon Turi Hear the podcast:
Super Bowl sets new record for live streaming, barely
At first glance, Fox Sports' viewership numbers for its Super Bowl stream are impressive, but when compared to data from previous games, they lose a bit of their luster. This year, an average of 528,000 people tuned into the stream per minute compared to 2013's 508,000 viewer total. The increase is enough for the broadcaster to say the game is the "most-viewed live stream ever for a single sports event in the US," (phew!) but the extra eyes only bumped the number by about 4 percent. How long people streamed the game increased by 25 percent this year, averaging around 48 minutes total. What's more, Fox says that on Sunday, its Sports Go app was the number one most downloaded sports app for iPhones and iPads, and the number two iPad app overall. Peak viewing time was in the third quarter when 1.1 million simultaneous users tuned in -- you know, when the Seahawks' victory was all but guaranteed.
Super Bowl 2014 ad roundup: '80s stars raid a RadioShack, bears dance with Ellen and more
If you were one of those 110 million who tuned into this year's Super Bowl, you probably have some thoughts on those ads -- ads that cost a whole load of cash. This year, we had the predictable heart-tug from a soda brand, a shirtless Brooklyn Nine-Nine star singing along with the Muppets and a reunion with the boys of Full House over a cup of Greek yogurt. But since this is Engadget, let's start with what we know best: tech.
Use the Fox Sports Go app to watch Super Bowl XLVIII for free
Fox Sports is hosting Super Bowl XLVIII this year and will stream the event both online and to mobile devices. If you have an iPad, you'll be able watch the game for free on your tablet using the Fox Sports Go app. To showcase its streaming service, the network is offering a one-day pass to its Fox Sports Go service. This service is usually available only to cable subscribers on six providers, but on Sunday it will be opened up to everyone in the US. It'll only be available on the iPad due to a licensing deal between the NFL and Verizon Wireless. iPhone owners who want to watch the game on their phone must subscribe to Verizon's NFL Mobile service. Fox Sports Go is available for free from the iOS App Store. US football fans will be able to access free Fox Sports content from midnight EST on Sunday, February 2, until 3 AM EST on Monday, February 3.
How to watch Super Bowl XLVIII: the Engadget survival guide
This year's Super Bowl is taking place in an outdoor stadium in New York / New Jersey, with a forecast high of 36 degrees. While traveling to the big game is said to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, convincing you to watch from somewhere warm and sheltered shouldn't take a hard sell. The players are getting ready to battle it out for the championship, and like every year, we're getting ready to watch it in the best way possible -- which in 2014 means a growing mix of devices and screens. While we once worried about just remotes and stereos, now phones, tablets and laptops are added to the mix, and new Ultra HD TVs are on shelves. Look below for our preparation suggestions, and add any of your own in the comments.
Verizon demonstrating LTE Multicast during Super Bowl XLVIII (hands-on video)
As part of its massive Super Bowl sponsorship, Verizon has taken over a good chunk of Manhattan's Bryant Park. We're at the Verizon Power House this morning, a heated oasis in the otherwise frigid city center, where reps are detailing the carrier's LTE Multicast service, which enables transmitting live content directly to a variety of VZ devices using the existing network infrastructure. Unlike basic LTE streaming, however, Multicast allows for an uninterrupted video feed regardless of the number of devices currently using the service in any particular area. We first heard about Verizon's implementation at CES 2013, and it looks like Big Red's planning to flip the switch during the first half of this year, though a pricing model, precise availability and device compatibility haven't been detailed. If you're in NYC this week, however, you'll be able to snag a sneak peek of Multicast running on a Sequans-powered tablet and a Galaxy Note 3. The service is currently live at a demo room in Verizon's Bryant Park booth.
Must See HDTV for the week of January 27th: Super Bowl XLVIII, State of the Union Address
This week's highlight event is hard to miss, as the Super Bowl dominates Sunday night's TV broadcasts. Before that however, the State of the Union address will appear on major networks Tuesday night, providing not only fodder for the politically interested, but also a comparison of broadcast quality across channels for videophiles. American Horror Story wraps up its season on FX this week and Melissa McCarthy takes the stage on Saturday Night Live, while Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition hits next-gen consoles. Check after the break for trailers plus our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and gaming.
Super Bowl XLVIII will be streamed for free on Fox Sports website and app
The past Super Bowl live streams have been wildly successful, so it's no surprise that fans will again be able to watch each touchdown online for the third year in a row. Fox Sports, the channel in charge of this year's coverage, will start broadcasting Super Bowl XLVIII (including Bruno Mars' halftime songstravaganza) on its streaming website and iOS app at 6:30PM on February 2nd. In addition to the big event (and the interesting commercials that go with it), Fox Sports will also stream its NFC coverage starting January 5th. According to Variety, only cable TV subscribers of certain providers can access the games, but Fox has yet to confirm that info. If that's true, well, fans can always watch the AFC playoffs on CBS' online portals instead. [Image credit: Stephen Luke/Flickr]
Super Bowl XLVII live stream notches 3 million unique viewers, breaks records
CBS has pulled back the curtain on just how many eyeballs were glued to its Super Bowl XLVII coverage, and it claims that its live stream netted 3 million unique viewers, up 43 percent from last year's game. With so many fans watching the action via the internet, CBS managed to whip up almost 10 million live video streams, which is more than a 100% uptick from the previous year. If you're wondering just how that translates into time spent watching the Ravens forge their path to victory, CBS says it broke a record by streaming 114.4 million minutes. According to figures collected by a trio of research groups, the game was the most "most-social event in the history of television," racking up more than 52.5 million mentions of it around the web in a single day -- three times that of 2012's Super Bowl and Grammy Awards. Sure, CBS' online viewership numbers for Super Bowl XLVI are impressive, but they're still eclipsed by the record-breaking 164.1 million viewers who caught the Ravens and 49ers duke it out on television.
Shazam mention, blackout at Super Bowl drives mobile engagement
Velti is a firm that runs advertising on mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and they were paying close attention during last Sunday's Super Bowl game to how and when mobile users were on their phones. The company has released a few tidbits about mobile usage during the big showdown, and they reveal quite a bit about when we picked up our phones during the game. Velti says that while the Ravens may have won the game, Jack in the Box was the biggest win on the mobile side: The company's "Hot Mess" commercial (which featured a big plug for Shazam, who we spoke with about exactly this situation at CES) was the most active mobile engagement driver during the entire show. Viewers saw the bug, and immediately picked up their phones, presumably to either check out Shazam or use the app on the commercial spot (though it was only 30 seconds, so they had to hurry). Mobile engagement also spiked, says Velti, during the brief blackout delay that the stadium experienced. In that same vein, the halftime show was actually the point at which viewers were least engaged in their phones, suggesting that Beyonce's song and dance distracted them back away from the smaller screens. And the game itself distracted viewers from their phones as well -- the relatively boring first half had more mobile usage, while the second half of the game, when the 49ers staged a comeback against the Ravens, saw mobile usage drop. There's a lot of very interesting insight in there about exactly how mobile users make use of their second screen devices. The Jack in the Box / Shazam spike is no mistake, and we can likely expect to see even more moves like that in the future. Our mobile phones are nearly always with us these days, and other screens, including television, have lots of opportunities to use Apple's platforms for even more engagement.
Editorial: BlackBerry slumps into history of Super Bowl tech ads
The comparison is obvious: BlackBerry's already-infamous "Can't Do" commercial in this year's Super Bowl vs. Apple's legendary "1984" spot in the 1984 game. Let's do the comparison anyway, and consider some other tech advertising over 35 years of Super Bowls.
Super Bowl 2013 ads: Samsung, Best Buy, BlackBerry and... Zombies
So, catch the big game on the, er, internet? Or, if you took our advice and used more traditional hardware, you may have caught Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd trying to outdo each other to become Samsung's "Next Big Thing" promoters (only to be trumped by LeBron James), or a BlackBerry Z10 user turning a tanker truck into rubber duckies. Other tech ads included Best Buy's "Ask Amy" with Amy Poehler in full-on adorkable mode, Sony's cinematic PlayStation God of War teaser and a pair of skeevy / cleverish Godaddy ads. We also got a sneak peak at the trailers for Iron Man 3 and Zombie apocalypse / Brad Pitt starrer World War Z. Finally, Star Trek: Into Darkness launched another teaser, which notably featured the debut of the Apple Store's "AppStore.com" short link. All-in-all, pretty weak sauce compared to last year, in our opinion -- but you can decide for yourself after the break.
Talkcast tonight: Post-Expo hangover edition, 10pm ET/7pm PT
We came, we saw, we sang a little karaoke and met an adorable monkey. Macworld/iWorld 2013 is in the books, and this is the first chance we've had to breathe a little and take stock. Of course, the best way to do that is to counterprogram the blackout-delayed Super Bowl and host our regular weekly gabfest, the Talkcast! Mike R. is fighting off the "expo crud" and sends his regrets, but I'll be there with bells on and ready to go. We'd love to hear your impressions of the show if you were there; your distant takes if you weren't. Products you saw, heard about or shook your head in disbelief at? Let us know. To participate live during the show, you can use the browser-only Talkshoe client, the embedded Facebook app, or download the classic TalkShoe Pro Java client; however, the best way to have your voice heard is to call in. For the web UI, just click the Talkshoe Web button on our profile page at 4 HI/7 PDT/10 pm EDT Sunday. To call in on regular phone or VoIP lines (viva free weekend minutes!): dial (724) 444-7444 and enter our talkcast ID, 45077 -- during the call, you can request to talk by keying in *8. If you've got a headset or microphone handy on your Mac, you can connect via the free X-Lite or other SIP clients (aside from Skype or Google Voice), basic instructions are here. Talk to you tonight!
BlackBerry Super Bowl ad shows the few things a Z10 can't do (video)
BlackBerry vowed to pull out all the stops to get BlackBerry 10 noticed -- and the company certainly isn't holding back with its promised Super Bowl spot. The ad claims that it's easier to show what the Z10 can't do in 30 seconds than what it can, and goes to extremes that include setting a man on fire and giving him elephant legs. We do still get a glance (or rather, Peek) at the phone itself, thankfully. Does the commercial make us want to drop everything for a Z10? Not necessarily, but we'll likely remember what we saw. Check the clip for yourself after the break.
Samsung Super Bowl ad teases Apple
As noted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, Samsung spends almost $12 billion a year to promote its brand. A chunk of this money is going to clever ads like the one below that is a lead up to the company's bigger Super Bowl Sunday spot. Apple fans will likely see the irony in the video below, which pokes fun at the NFL and its tight licensing of its trademarks. Guess Samsung's disdain for intellectual property is evident in its commercials as well as real life. [Via Apple 2.0]
5 apps for Super Bowl Sunday
It's Super Bowl weekend, so bring on the football, food and fun. Like most people, you likely will watch the game with snacks in one hand and your iPhone or iPad in the other. You probably already have the official NFL apps on your phone and your Zite football news all setup. So here are five additional apps to help you prepare your Super Bowl snacks and enjoy your Sunday night reveling in front of the TV. Football Party Game [iOS Universal, $4.99] Football Party Game is a trivia game that you play with the guests at your Super Bowl party. Each person answers a series of questions as the game goes on and is awarded points for each correct answer. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins! Foodie Recipes [iPad, Free] Foodie Recipes is a recipe app that offers cookbooks filled with seasonal recipes. Recipes are handpicked by the Foodie bloggers and editors. The latest version adds 40 new recipes like baked pizza dip and chili con queso that'll liven any game day parties. Super Ads: Super Bowl Commercials [iOS Universal, $1.99] Watch more than 200 Super Bowl commercials on your iPhone or iPad. Share your favorite ads via email, Facebook and Twitter. Football Squares [iOS Universal, $0.99] Who doesn't enjoy the competition of a football pool on Super Bowl Sunday? Use the Football Squares app to invite your friends to make their picks for the big game and see who comes out on top. Sportsmanias [iPhone, Free] Sportsmanias is a relative newcomer that combines sports news, team information and tweets from the top sports journalists.
The Daily Roundup for 01.31.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Totally blow out the big game! Super Bowl XLVII
After a long season, it's finally time for Super Bowl XLVII, and just as the players and coaches get ready for the big event in New Orleans, we're set on making sure you have everything you need to experience the event at home. While handy apps like Google Maps can help out ticket-holders with indoor maps of the Superdome, we've got the directions to follow in your own living room. In the modern age, game-day viewing is a mess of remotes, controllers, laptops, phones and now tablets -- make sure you're not showing down for the big event and follow us after the break.
