Super Bowl LVIII Technical Details Promise Excellent Viewing Experience, Despite No 4K Broadcast on Paramount+
CBS will deploy 165 total cameras for the Super Bowl this year, including “doink” cameras inserted into each endzone pylon.
It’s almost hard to believe that the NFL season is nearly over. There’s just one game left to go, but it’s the biggest one of them all: Super Bowl LVIII. The Big Game will be played in Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET and will air on CBS and Paramount+, and there will also be a special “SpongeBob SquarePants“-themed broadcast on Nickelodeon. From a technical standpoint, CBS’s production of the Super Bowl will be quite impressive, including its first-ever broadcast of a 4K event and the use of more 4K zoom extraction cameras for the game than have ever been employed before.
- Super Bowl LVIII’s telecast will include 48 cameras with super slow-motion capability.
- “Doink” cameras will be installed in endzone pylons to capture field goals and extra points.
- Augmented reality cameras will also be used to integrate graphics into CBS’s coverage of the Super Bowl.
What Technical Innovations Is CBS Bringing to Its Super Bowl LVIII Broadcast?
CBS first announced that Super Bowl LVIII would become its first-ever event broadcast in 4K in early January, but at that time it did not make clear just how much 4K technology would be in use for the Big Game. Its production will include 24 cameras with 4K zoom extraction capability, the most ever used during a Super Bowl. These cameras will allow for super slow-motion replays and a clear picture, even while zoomed in, which means the clearest view possible for the most critical calls of the game.
In addition, 20 cameras have been embedded inside the endzone pylons, including six “doink” cameras which have been installed inside the uprights to give fans an unprecedented view of field goals and extra points. CBS will also make use of 23 augmented reality cameras, 11 of which will be used on the CBS broadcast to integrate graphic enhancements into the coverage. Eight more AR cameras will be employed in the airing of Nickelodeon's “SpongeBob” broadcast, helping bring your favorite SpongeBob characters onto the field and ensuring that there’s plenty of slime to flood the screen every time a player scores.
All in all, CBS’s production of the Super Bowl will include 165 cameras, ensuring every moment is captured from multiple angles. A new world champion will be crowned at the end of the game, and that means it’s critical for officials and fans alike to be able to see the most accurate view of every play. CBS has ensured that won’t be a problem thanks to the impressive array of technology and the sheer number of cameras it has deployed for the Super Bowl.
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Why Isn’t Super Bowl LVIII Being Offered in 4K on Paramount+?
There has been no concrete explanation from CBS as to why the Super Bowl will not stream in 4K on Paramount+. There’s a good chance it has something to do with latency, which is the delay between action happening on the field and when streaming customers see it on their device screen. Last year’s Super Bowl on Fox actually cut latency to the point that streaming viewers saw action on the field before cable audiences did, but CBS may not have the ability to reduce latency in the same fashion.
A 4K stream might take even longer for devices to process and load for viewers, so CBS may have decided the delay would be too long to make streaming the Super Bowl on Paramount+ in 4K a viable option this year. Fans would certainly object to having their stream fall drastically behind the live broadcast, even if they had access to an Ultra-High-Definition stream of the game.
Fans will be able to watch the Super Bowl in 4K through providers like DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo on CBS. Nickelodeon will be the only place for viewers to watch the “SpongeBob” alternate broadcast of the Super Bowl, but streaming customers on both tiers of Paramount+ can watch the Big Game live. CBS will offer a fantastic Super Bowl viewing experience for fans, using myriad camera angles and integrated augmented reality graphics to make for a superior production.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and more. The lineup includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.