Superbowl halftime questions

[BMR]

Christmas is over, and it will soon be that time of year again.

Could I ask three questions about the Superbowl?

1) How long is halftime? How many ad breaks do you get in that time?

2) How long is the halftime show itself?

3) According to Wiki (not the most reliable source I know), the other networks try to counter-programme the halftime show. But how do they do this? Surely you don't know exactly when halftime will fall, because the number of interuptions in the game. So how can they schedule counter-programming?

 

[vchimpanzee]

3) According to Wiki (not the most reliable source I know), the other networks try to counter-programme the halftime show. But how do they do this? Surely you don't know exactly when halftime will fall, because the number of interuptions in the game. So how can they schedule counter-programming?

I have seen it done. "America's Funniest Home Videos" was one and, no , I don't remember how. I think "Dateline NBC" did it once too. They had a special program that started in ther middle of "Dateline" and then returned to the show later.

I desperately need halftime, though. The one time I actually watched the game was when the Panthers were in it, but even though I bring plenty of reading material for the breaks between the action, football is unpredictable and you never know when the show is going to start again. There's never any guarantee when you leave the room for whatever reason. And one year I didn't learn that lesson and missed a commercial with Macy's balloons which I have never again had the chance to see. All I saw was either Charlie Brown or Stewie Grffin.

 

[BDBopper]

You mean this commercial?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMf5cCDy1I

 

[WPPCProductions]

I taped the last couple of halftime shows.The halftime show it self runs approx 10 to 15 minutes of the artist performance.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

3) According to Wiki (not the most reliable source I know), the other networks try to counter-programme the halftime show. But how do they do this? Surely you don't know exactly when halftime will fall, because the number of interuptions in the game. So how can they schedule counter-programming?

I have seen it done. "America's Funniest Home Videos" was one and, no , I don't remember how. I think "Dateline NBC" did it once too. They had a special program that started in ther middle of "Dateline" and then returned to the show later.

IIRC "In Living Color" had a special Super Bowl counter-program against the halftime show in 1992.

And wasn't there at least one year that there was a special WWF (WWE) main event against the SB halftime show as well? I seem to remember hearing about one instance of this counter-programming.

 

[nathannah]

It's 20 minutes usually, and there seems to be a 1 minute+show+10 second 'thanks for watching, sponsored by' card+1 minute+30 second network promo+2 minutes local+15 seconds NFL 'This copyrighted broadcast...' disclaimer pattern during the time of the actual show before they go back to the booth for the last few minutes with analysis.

Usually now, the Puppy Bowl is the only serious counterprogramming. The NBC Uni networks just air reality show or romantic comedy marathons, while ESPN airs something like a fitness contest or cheerleading show to make people repel away from their show to help the Shield, CBS does repeats and Fox burns off their terrible shows or poorly-received episodes of their animated shows, with the cable networks doing movies and game repeats. ABC has done Wipeout in the past few years.

 

[WMC2006]

I'm pretty sure someone still programs a Lingerie Bowl (hot babes playing touch football or something while wearing lingerie) on pay-per-view.

 

[johnnya2k6]

IIRC "In Living Color" had a special Super Bowl counter-program against the halftime show in 1992.

And wasn't there at least one year that there was a special WWF (WWE) main event against the SB halftime show as well? I seem to remember hearing about one instance of this counter-programming.

Yes; it was Halftime Heat (Mankind (Mick Foley) vs. The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) in an Empty Arena Match for the WWE Championship) in 1999. For some reason, it aired AFTER the Super Bowl on the West Coast.

And of course, it was the In Living Color halftime episode that had then-Commissioner Paul Taglibue finally come to his senses and change Super Bowl halftime forever, starting with Michael Jackson the following year.

 

[vchimpanzee]

You mean this commercial?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMf5cCDy1I

Yeah, thanks. YouTube has everything!

 

[FreddyE1977]

IIRC "In Living Color" had a special Super Bowl counter-program against the halftime show in 1992.

Yes, I remember it well. Heavily promoted and I think the ratings were strong.

We will probably never see that happen again. All of the networks now (including ABC's parent company ESPN)
have business ties with the NFL. And if they want to maintain them I'm sure they've all been told NO MORE
STUNTING during the Super Bowl Half-Time Show.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

IIRC "In Living Color" had a special Super Bowl counter-program against the halftime show in 1992.

Yes, I remember it well. Heavily promoted and I think the ratings were strong.

We will probably never see that happen again. All of the networks now (including ABC's parent company ESPN)
have business ties with the NFL. And if they want to maintain them I'm sure they've all been told NO MORE
STUNTING during the Super Bowl Half-Time Show.

some cable networks could still do it

 

[JeeperOne]

I'm pretty sure someone still programs a Lingerie Bowl (hot babes playing touch football or something while wearing lingerie) on pay-per-view.

That's on MTV2

Ohh wait....That's the Lingerie Football League isn't it? ;D LOL

Cheers & 73

 

[searadiofreak]

The NFL has strict regulations on halftimes during the regular season and even in the playoffs. Everything is timed precisely.

My understanding is The Super Bowl is a completely different animal. Open to negotiation between the talent and the NFL. Of course, nobody wants the halftime to overstay its welcome. So, you see a much longer halftime during the Super Bowl, but nothing excessive. Of course the network covering the game is rooting for a long halftime to extend their ratings.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

The NFL has strict regulations on halftimes during the regular season and even in the playoffs. Everything is timed precisely.

My understanding is The Super Bowl is a completely different animal. Open to negotiation between the talent and the NFL. Of course, nobody wants the halftime to overstay its welcome. So, you see a much longer halftime during the Super Bowl, but nothing excessive. Of course the network covering the game is rooting for a long halftime to extend their ratings.

The Thanksgiving games also had longer halftime shows due to concerts--maybe not to the extent of the Super Bowl in length.

 

[JeeperOne]

The NFL has strict regulations on halftimes during the regular season and even in the playoffs. Everything is timed precisely.

Even the nationally televised preseason games follow the NFL rules. Ever notice how those almost never exceed the length of a regular season halftime game?

As for those that are only regionally televised, I think the NFL teams tend to stick to the same guidelines set down by the NFL. Only difference is local stations NOT in the locale of the NFL team either bump the news report from the flagship station with one of their own or they don't do one at all & just stick with extra commercials in its place

My understanding is The Super Bowl is a completely different animal. Open to negotiation between the talent and the NFL. Of course, nobody wants the halftime to overstay its welcome. So, you see a much longer halftime during the Super Bowl, but nothing excessive. Of course the network covering the game is rooting for a long halftime to extend their ratings.

Having said that though, the NFL BY NO MEANS wants the halftime show to be a bigger buzz than the actual game itself on Monday Morning even though the network itself would love nothing less (Remember Janet Jackson's wardrobe "Malfunction" ??)

Cheers & 73 ;D