ESPN’s coverage of Super Bowl XLIV

By Ryan

ESPN’s many media outlets are all over Super Bowl week, with content across 18 platforms. From ESPN:
sbxliv_mark_2_rgbESPN AT SUPER BOWL XLIV

Super Bowl XLIV week in South Florida will kick off Sunday, Jan. 31, with the 2010 Pro Bowl on ESPN, ESPN HD and ESPN Deportes at 7:20 p.m. ET from Sun Life Stadium. ESPN’s week-long comprehensive coverage of the Indianapolis Colts-New Orleans Saints matchup will continue across its multimedia platforms through Sunday, Feb. 7. Highlights:

·         Super Bowl-related content across 18 ESPN platforms: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Classic, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPNEWS HD, ESPNU HD, ESPN International, ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNRadio.com, ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPNdeportes.com, ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Mobile properties;

·         More than 80 hours of Super Bowl-related programming on domestic television from South Florida;

·         More than 55 hours of Super Bowl-related programming on ESPN Radio from South Florida;

·         ESPN International will bring live coverage of the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl to more than 51 million households in 140 countries and territories throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Rim, and much of Europe;

·         More than 30 on-air commentators (hosts, analysts, reporters and contributors) covering on-site;

·         ESPN’s coverage will peak with more than 16 hours of TV and radio coverage on Super Bowl Sunday (Sunday, Feb. 7), beginning with Mike & Mike in the Morning at 6 a.m. (ESPN Radio/ESPN2).

·         ESPN’s weeklong television and radio coverage (Feb. 1 – Feb. 7) will originate from Lummus Park on Miami Beach (12th Street and Ocean Drive).

Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 7)

·         Berman, covering his 28th Super Bowl, will host the special four-hour Super Bowl edition of Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) from Lummus Park on Miami Beach with Carter, Ditka, Jackson, Johnson, Mortensen and Schefter. Analysts Trent Dilfer, Steve Young and Tedy Bruschi – all Super Bowl champions – will also appear on the show from Miami Beach, while MNF’s Tirico, Jaworski and Gruden will occupy a set at Sun Life Stadium. In all, ESPN’s Super Bowl Sunday analyst team features former players and coaches with a combined 12 Super Bowl rings in 20 appearances in the NFL’s biggest game. Reporters Suzy Kolber (Colts) and Ed Werder (Saints) will provide team updates.
·         Postgame coverage on ESPN begins at 10 p.m. begins with NFL Primetime with Berman, Jackson and Young on the field at Sun Life Stadium, followed by a 90-minute SportsCenter.
·         ESPN Radio’s “Super Sunday” program lineup will include Mike & Mike in the Morning for the third straight year (6-10 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2). Tirico will anchor ESPN Radio’s post-game coverage from radio row in Miami until 1 a.m.
·         ESPN2’s SportsNation will have a special two-hour Super Bowl Sunday show (10 a.m., re-airing at noon).
·         ESPN International will air Super Bowl XLIV live to more than 51 million households in 140 countries and territories throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Rim, and much of Europe.  Commentary and analysis will be provided in English, French-Canadian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

ESPN – ESPN2 – ESPNEWS – ESPNU – ESPN Classic
ESPN’s primary host location throughout Super Bowl week will be an outdoor set – open for public viewing – Lummus Park on Miami Beach (12th Street and Ocean Drive).  Planned highlights:
·    SportsCenter (Monday, Feb. 1 – Sunday, Feb. 7) – daily editions with anchors Mike Greenberg, Steve Levy and Stuart Scott, joined by Mortensen, Schefter, reporters Kolber and Werder, and analysts Ditka, Jackson, Johnson, Young, etc.;
·    SportsCenter Special: The Champions (Friday, Feb. 5 at 3:30 p.m., ESPN) – Tirico hosts this special with all of ESPN’s NFL analysts in Miami who have won Super Bowl rings – Bruschi, Dilfer, Ditka, Gruden, Johnson, Matt Millen, Mark Schlereth and Young. The panel — with a combined 19 rings in 24 Super Bowl appearances – will discuss their personal experiences of playing for the NFL title and what they expect for Super Bowl XLIV.
·    Sport Science (Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m., ESPN) – The three-time Emmy Award-winning special hosted by John Brenkus will offer four football-based segments, including researching the common thread in quarterbacks, the physics of the greatest catches of the past several years (with Steelers’ wide receiver Santonio Holmes in-studio), exploring if a running back generates as much power as a Diesel engine (with Bills’ Marshawn Lynch), and Brenkus acting as live dummy when 14-year NFL veteran Matt Willig joins him in the lab to test the impact-forces when an unpadded referee accidentally gets hit.  Sport Science brings popular professional athletes together with cutting-edge technology in state-of-the-art scientific facilities to test the limits of human athletic abilities, while challenging popular assumptions about athletes and sports.
·    SportsCenter Special and NFL Live (Monday, Feb. 1 – Thursday, Feb. 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m.) – Trey Wingo will host daily these consecutive 30-minute shows throughout Super Bowl week;
·    NFL Matchup (Sunday, Feb. 7, 3 and 6:30 a.m., ESPN) – the popular 30-minute X’s and O’s analysis show hosted by Sal Paolantonio with Merril Hoge and Jaworski will preview the Super Bowl matchup from South Florida;
·    Rome is Burning (M-F, 4:30 p.m., ESPN) – current and former NFL players will join host Jim Rome live in  South Florida to discuss the Super Bowl;
·    Around the Horn (M-F, 5 p.m., ESPN) – daily panelists will opine from South Florida;
·    Pardon the Interruption (M-F, 5:30 p.m., ESPN) – co-host Michael Wilbon and ‘Five Good Minutes’ guests will participate from South Florida;
·    Sports Reporters (Sunday, Feb. 7, at 8:30 a.m., ESPN) – John Saunders will host the popular Sunday morning sports journalism and discussion program from the Super Bowl city;
·    Mike & Mike in the Morning (M-F, 6-10 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2) – Co-hosts Mike Golic and Greenberg will kick off ESPN Radio’s on-site coverage from Miami on Monday, Feb. 1, followed by The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m.-2 p.m./ESPNU), and co-hosts Scott Van Pelt and Ryen Russillo on The Scott Van Pelt Show (2-4 p.m./ESPN2). Each show will feature NFL guests and experts on-set with the hosts throughout the week.
·    First Take (M-F, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., ESPN2) – will include Super Bowl-related interviews and previews all week;
·    SportsNation (M-F, 4 p.m., ESPN2) – Michelle Beadle will be joined by guest host and ESPN NFL analyst Marcellus Wiley in ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios all week. A special preview of Puppy Bowl VI is among the anticipated Super Bowl week features. A special two-hour SportsNation is also planned for Super Bowl Sunday, at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 (re-airing at noon).
·    ESPN2 will feature a number of NFL Films-produced Super Bowl highlight shows throughout the week, including back-to-back 30-minute shows Saturday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. spotlighting two memorable South Florida Super Bowl games involving the Colts – SB III vs. Jets and SB XLI vs. Bears.
·    ESPNEWS will provide live coverage of Super Bowl events with extensive reporting from Miami all week — including team arrivals, coaches’ and players’ press conferences, Media Day (Tuesday, Feb. 2), Commissioner Roger Goodell’s State of the NFL address (Friday, Feb. 5), and the Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement (Saturday, Feb. 6).  On Super Bowl Sunday, extensive pre- and postgame analysis will include interviews, news conferences, highlights and more.
·    ESPN Classic will celebrate Super Bowl XLIV with 24 straight hours of NFL-related programming, including: SportsCentury shows spotlighting Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and more; Who’s #1; Top 5 Reasons You Can’t Blame…; and classic interviews that have not been aired on ESPN in more than a decade, including Up Close Classics with Jim Kelly, Joe Namath and more, Firestone Chat with Brett Favre and Schaap One-one-One.

ESPN RADIO – ESPNRADIO.COM
ESPN Radio’s Super Week 2010 in South Florida will feature 10 hours of programming each weekday (6 a.m.-4 p.m./M-F), including on-site broadcasts of regularly scheduled weekday programs, special shows, reports from team headquarters, Media Day, and comprehensive analysis and post-game interviews. For the first time, The Herd (ESPNU) and The Scott Van Pelt Show (ESPN2) will be simulcast from the Super Bowl city, joining Mike & Mike (ESPN2).

Beginning Monday, Feb. 1, Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m., M-F/ESPN2) with co-hosts Golic and Greenberg will kick off ESPN Radio’s on-site coverage, followed by The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m. – 2 p.m., M-F/ESPNU) and The Scott Van Pelt Show (2-4 p.m. M-F/ESPN2). All radio shows throughout the week will originate from 11th St. and Ocean Drive in South Beach (adjacent to the ESPN television set). Friday’s coverage will also include the Weekend Blitz: Pro Football (8-9 p.m.) and The Mort Report (9-10 p.m.).

For the third straight year, Mike & Mike in the Morning will kick off “Super Sunday” with a special lineup (6-10 a.m./simulcast on ESPN2). Tirico will anchor ESPN Radio’s post-game coverage from Miami until 1 a.m.

ESPNRadio.com will provide live audio and video streaming of ESPN Radio programs throughout Super Bowl week, as well as on-demand highlights of every show and every interview.

ESPN.COM and ESPN MOBILE PRODUCTS
ESPN.com is providing complete coverage and analysis of the game, teams, players, coaches and the entire Super Bowl scene from Miami from the main NFL page (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/index) and the 2010 edition of Super Bowl Central (http://espn.go.com/nfl/superbowl). The site features interactivity through daily chats with writers and other personalities on SportsNation, as well as video reports throughout the week.

ESPN’s award-winning roster of contributors will be part of Super Bowl coverage, including Pro Football Hall of Famers John Clayton and Len Pasquarelli, as well as Gene Wojciechowski, Jeffri Chadiha, Greg Garber, Elizabeth Merrill, the NFL Blog Network and Scouts Inc., who will provide insight, commentary, breaking news and analysis of all facets of the Super Bowl XLIV match-up.  Other coverage highlights include:
·         Complete coverage of Media Day, with users able to interact with bloggers on the scene;
·         An interactive presentation called Inside A Moment In Time that takes readers inside Steelers linebacker James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return in Super Bowl XLIII;
·         Behind-the-hero stories highlighting one player from each of the 43 teams that have earned Super Bowl rings;
·         Video, essays and pictorials from 10 Super Bowl MVPs, including Pittsburgh’s Hines Ward, who tell stories about pivotal moments in their path to being named MVPs;
·         In-depth analysis, scouting reports and rankings of all 106 players on the Super Bowl rosters from Scouts Inc.;
·         Additional video features, interviews, news and analysis on the ESPN Video hub (http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/);

Fans on the go can access the latest action through the NFL Playoffs Hotcorner on the ESPN mobile Web site and up to the minute scores via the ESPN ScoreCenter mobile app for iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

ESPN INTERNATIONAL
ESPN will deliver Super Bowl XLIV to some 51 million households in 140 countries and territories outside the U.S.  ESPN International will provide live coverage of Super Bowl XLIV throughout Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Israel, Europe and the Pacific Rim and Canada. Commentary and analysis will be provided in English, French-Canadian, Portuguese and Spanish. ESPN International will also air the Pro Bowl on January 31 to fans in these regions. Highlights:
·    For the first time, ESPN International will host the “Super Bowl at Sea” Viewing Party for clients and VIPs.  The network will feature SportsCenter segments from aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise. The four-day Caribbean cruise will depart from Miami on Feb. 4 and return Feb. 8;
·    Coverage of the game in HD in Australia, Brazil and the rest of Spanish-speaking Latin America. In Latin America, ESPN will be the only network televising the game in HD;
·    ESPN’s international SportsCenter production team will provide reports throughout the week to Latin America and throughout the Pacific Rim;
·    Live coverage on Super Bowl Sunday in Latin America will begin at 3:30 p.m. with Cronometro Super Sunday Special, followed by a one-hour edition of SportsCenter: Super Bowl Special and NFL Esta Noche Super Bowl Special.

Spanish-language coverage in the U.S. and Latin America will feature Spanish-language Emmy nominee Álvaro Martín (play-by-play), analyst and former New York Giants Super Bowl-winning kicker Raul Allegre, and reporters John Sutcliffe and Ciro Procuna, who will offer daily reports from Miami on Spanish-language editions of SportsCenter and Radio Formula programs, and Los Capitanes en ESPN throughout Super Bowl week.  Live coverage on Super Bowl Sunday in Latin America begins at 3:30 p.m. with Cronometro Super Bowl Special and continues throughout the day through the telecast of Super Bowl XLIV at 6 p.m.

ESPN DEPORTES – ESPN DEPORTES RADIO – ESPNDEPORTES.COM
ESPN Deportes will offer the most comprehensive coverage of Super Bowl XLIV on Spanish-language television in the U.S.  The network will have a team in Miami all week, providing nightly segments for its edition of SportsCenter.  NFL Semanal, ESPN’s signature Spanish-language NFL news and analysis program, will be hosted by Procuna, Martin and Allegre from the ESPN set in South Beach. In addition, ESPN Deportes will feature exclusive live coverage in the U.S. of the Pro Bowl.

ESPN Deportes Radio, the only around-the-clock national Spanish-language sports radio network in the U.S., will feature NFL commentary throughout Super Bowl week. ESPNdeportes.com, the company’s Spanish-language Web site, will provide complete coverage all week, including chats with ESPN Deportes experts, daily blogs and ESPN Motion video.

ESPN THE MAGAZINE
Athlete and celebrity Super Bowl revelers will dance the night away at ESPN The Magazine‘s sixth annual NEXT event at the “new” Fontainebleau Miami Beach in a custom-made, 25,000-square-foot, clear-top tent Friday, Feb. 5. The private, VIP event will feature Grammy Award-winning singer Ne-Yo and Grammy-nominated singer Keri Hilson as its headliners; A Tribe Called Quest front-man Q-Tip will DJ the event.  Universal Music Group recording artists rapper Nelly will report from the red carpet, interviewing athletes and celebrities in a Samsung sponsored tent on the carpet. ESPN The Magazine‘s NEXT event celebrates The Mag’s NEXT issue and showcases what’s NEXT in sports, technology, lifestyle, and, of course, what’s NEXT from ESPN.

About Ryan Berenz 2167 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.