Super Bowl XLII was the most watched Super Bowl in U.S. TV history (97.5 million viewers) and for once the game was far better than the commercials. The Giants’ 17-14 upset of the Patriots madefor great viewing and, due to the last minute heroics by both Tom Brady and Eli Manning, most people watched the game until the very end — which sealed the ratings for FOX.
There were some big winners in broadcast wars surrounding the game, so let’s take a look at who scored and who was shutout.
Pregame » The edge here goes to the NFL Network from noon-5:30 p.m. Sunday they had the best pregame show for the hard core football fan. Rich Eisen, Deion Sanders and Steve Mariucci had a steady stream of present and past players who talked plenty about the game. Meanwhile because FOX knows that for many viewers, the Super Bowl is he only football game they watch all season and they had to be versatile.
FOX had Ryan Seacrest handling their red carpet and he was joined by fellow American Idol co-stars Paula Abdul, who showcased a new music video, and Randy Jackson — who was reduced to telling everyone how hot Paula was.
Game wise » FOX’s production team was spot-on. They had all the angles covered from the kickoff to the Pats catching the Giants with 12 men on the field to Manning’s escape of a sure sack on the game winning drive that resulted in David Tyree’s spectacular catch on the Pats 26 yard line.
Postgame » Again, goes to the NFL Network who had their set on the field in the end zone. It was the perfect place as all the Giants players rushed over to grab a mic and talk about the win with Deion Sanders, Steve Mariucci and Rich Eisen. Meanwhile the Fox gang had once again to put up with the NFL’s staged presentations that allows for very little conversation and analyst Terry Bradshaw had lost his voice making matters worse.
Of note on the radio side » Mike Tirico did a live Super Bowl postgame edition for three hours from Phoenix — a great way to wrap up the day.
As for the always anticipated Super Bowl Ads, there were very few good ones. The Audi spot with “The Godfather” theme was good, the Bridgestone Tires Screaming Squirrel were two great ones — also the Go Daddy.com spot that FOX rejected is worth a look at their Web site.
Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this! on www.examiner.com.
