The Super Bowl is one of the most meticulously planned events in sports, but a third quarter power outage left CBS in a loop Sunday night.
Power went out in the New Orleans Superdome during the third quarter of Sunday’s Ravens/49ers Super Bowl. The outage, which began shortly before 8:40 PM ET, caused CBS to lose “numerous cameras and some audio” — leaving the network without announcers Jim Nantz and Phil Simms until 9:06 PM ET.
CBS was not the only outlet affected. Kevin Harlan, calling the game on radio for Dial Global, had to communicate through a landline phone.
CBS sideline reporters Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots were given unexpected exposure in the immediate aftermath of the delay, initially handling duties until the network switched to “The NFL Today” studio team. Due to the delay, the studio team was able to offer the kind of extended analysis that is usually missing in Super Bowl halftime coverage.
The delay is likely to have an impact on the viewership for Sunday’s game, which was already a 28-6 blowout. Barring a 49ers comeback, the delay and the lopsided score could result in the least-viewed Super Bowl in years. The delay also figures to push back the start of CBS’ drama “Elementary.”
Of note, CBS went commercial free during most of the delay. The game finally resumed at 9:10 ET.
(CBS Sports statement on the outage from CBS Press Express)
