MINNEAPOLIS -- NBC will introduce some new wrinkles to its broadcast of Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Mark Lazarus, Chairman of NBC Broadcasting & Sports, said Saturday at the NFL's "1st and Future" technology event that his team will debut a new, higher angle of the contest for TV viewers.
"In terms of innovation, we strive to bring the broadcast to people in innovative ways," Lazarus said during a panel discussion. "You'll see a couple of new things from us tomorrow. You'll see what we're calling the 'High SkyCam' which is the second SkyCam, which gives sort of a video game look and feel to the game. We'll use it to show how plays develop. We'll use it to show some of the perspectives that different consumers have become used to playing things like Madden. It gives our producers and optionality to show the game in a unique format."
NBC tinkered with the video-game view this season in an effort to attract younger viewers to its Thursday Night Football broadcasts. The network utilized the SkyCam as the primary viewing angle of its Week 11 tilt between the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers. Sunday's tilt won't take on that extreme approach but could give viewers a new and better look at how plays develop. No network has utilized two SkyCams for a Super Bowl in the past.
The dual SkyCam system isn't the only innovation NBC will roll out for its Super Bowl broadcast.
"We're debuting some 3D imaging that we've done," Lazarus said. "We've taken three players from each team, and we've traced them and done 3D imaging, some of what the medical field does in 3D imaging. And we'll be able to show players in a unique way throughout the game and something that's never been done here. ... Some of it will work, not all of it does, like in any innovation and technology, but the stuff that does we'll be able to implement off into the future."
Lazarus added that he expects about 165 million viewers for NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl LII.
"I think we are going to be joined by about 165 million," he said. "What's typically one of the biggest issues in our business is measurement and keeping track of people. Especially in games like the Super Bowl, we're underreported. So, we anticipate and think it's going to be around 165 million. Whether that's the number that gets out and reported, we think that's the real number."
