Connected TV Platforms Prepare for 'Most Streamed TV Event' Ever in Super Bowl 55

There are about to be more ways than ever to stream the Super Bowl, thanks to wider availability and the proliferation of smart TVs. As Sunday approaches, connected TV platforms are preparing for what they anticipate will be "the most streamed TV event to date," in the words of Amazon Fire TV's vp and gm, Sandeep Gupta. Among this year's many Super Bowl streaming options, CBS is providing unauthenticated access to Sunday’s matchup on its website and the CBS Sports app for OTT devices and services, smart TVs and mobile devices. This marks the first year the CBS Sports app is available on LG and Vizio platforms since CBS last had the broadcast rights to the game in 2019. “I think it just makes it easier for an additional group of fans who watch television on their smart TVs to access our app and watch the Super Bowl,” said Jeff Gerttula, evp and gm of CBS Sports Digital. “It's just about simplicity. It's about reducing friction. It's about being in the place that fans are, and are increasingly. Our hope is that's just more people who get to engage and have an enjoyable experience.” In the past few years, streaming hours on smart TVs have exploded. Data from Conviva found that streaming grew 44% between Q4 2019 and Q4 2020, led by the smart TV category with a massive 157% year-over-year increase in viewing hours. Smart TV’s overall video viewership time grew from 9% in the fourth quarter of 2019 to 17% in the final quarter of 2020. Connected TV platforms such as Amazon Fire TV and Roku are ready to take advantage of their increased reach for the Big Game. Roku took 31% share of all streaming TV viewing in the fourth quarter, followed by Amazon Fire TV with 19%. CBS Counts on Super Bowl Boost to Put Season Back on Track After Covid Upheaval "This year’s Big Game will be the most streamed TV event to date. In the last year, more sports fans have cut the cord than ever before and will be streaming the Super Bowl on their Fire TV for the first time,” Gupta said. In a relatively rare move for Amazon, the company will display a banner at the top of the Fire TV screen that will take customers to a custom landing page showing them how to stream the game, including an option to watch on CBS All Access through Prime Video Channels. Amazon is also integrating Alexa into its marketing, both on- and off-device. Saying “Alexa, play the Big Game” will take users to CBS All Access or one of the virtual MVPDs that carry CBS. The company will also publish a “how to stream” blog and post on Fire TV’s social channels. Over at Roku, the company also posted a Super Bowl streaming blog and teamed up with TurboTax to keep its subscribers engaged before and during Sunday’s game. The brand will be the official sponsor of The Roku Channel’s Big Game editorial hub and its Where to Watch Guide surrounding the Super Bowl. “Streaming will score a touchdown during this year’s Big Game,” said Tedd Cittadine, vp of content distribution at Roku. He noted that the free streaming options are “another sign of the future where all content will be streamed.” Like Fire TV, Roku is encouraging customers to start a free trial of CBS All Access (soon to become Paramount+) or to authenticate the channel with a participating pay-TV provider, which will also enable them to stream the game. Additionally, Roku TV owners with an antenna can tune into broadcast TV. CBS All Access is currently available on nearly every smart TV platform. “We've seen triple-digit growth in NFL streaming on CBS All Access,” said Gerttula. “We expect there to be a significant audience watching the Super Bowl in that product.” The Super Bowl can be accessed on other smart TV and OTT options including Apple TV, Samsung TV and Chromecast through the CBS Sports app, the NFL app or any virtual MVPD that carries CBS. The digital team at CBS is prepared to capture all the eyeballs tuning into the Big Game. “This will be our fourth year distributing digital streams for the Super Bowl,” said Gerttula. “It’s something we're very focused on.” And while there’s always latency in streaming compared to linear, Gerttula said the team has spent “a lot of time” preparing for it. “It's a good part of a year just working on our technical infrastructure to handle the scale and be prepared for it,” he said. Latency is “just the reality of streaming right now," but in "every subsequent event, you'll continue to see reductions in latency as technology advances.” ViacomCBS Taps Droga5 to Rebrand CBS All Access For all the latest Super Bowl advertising news—who’s in, who’s out, teasers, full ads and more—check out Adweek’s Super Bowl 2021 Ad Tracker and the rest of our stories about the Big Game. And join us on the evening of Feb. 7 for the best in-game coverage of the commercials anywhere.