Super Bowl XXX receives a live Internet cybercast
The NFL, NBC Sports and Microsoft operated a live Internet companion broadcast for Super Bowl XXX, combining real-time commentary, statistics, photographs and audio-based coverage with other multimedia elements.
Historical context
Major sports organizations were beginning to experiment with the Web as a second screen while home Internet access was expanding rapidly. Dial-up bandwidth made television-quality video impractical for most users, so early sports cybercasts combined text, still images, statistics and compressed audio instead.
What happened
During Super Bowl XXX, an official Internet cybercast offered live play-by-play and analysis from Randy Cross, Gil Brandt and Jeff Hostetler alongside continuously updated statistics and photographs. Contemporary coverage also described RealAudio feeds and online access to post-game material. This was not a full live-video simulcast of NBC's television broadcast; it was a purpose-built real-time Internet companion experience.
Consequences
The project demonstrated how a major live sporting event could have a simultaneous Internet experience rather than merely a static promotional website. The hybrid format anticipated later live score services, second-screen sports products and eventually full Internet sports streaming.
Related people
Sources
- NFL, Microsoft and NBC Sports to Offer Unprecedented Web Coverage of Super Bowl XXXMicrosoft
- SUPER BOWL'S TANGLED WEBSan Francisco Chronicle / SFGATE
- WEDNESDAY WEBSITES OF THE WEEKSports Business Journal