What CBS Sports HQ Hopes to Accomplish During Super Bowl Week in Atlanta

Photo via CBS

CBS Sports HQ begins a massive stretch of streaming Super Bowl coverage next week.

With a variety of on-site programming in Atlanta, the event offers CBS Sports HQ the ability to effectively launch its second year with a major hook — and test out on-site programming. CBS Sports HQ is the company’s 24/7 streaming sports news network, available for free across a variety of digital platforms.

“This is the biggest investment in any event we have made,” said Jeff Gerttula, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Sports Digital. “CBS Sports HQ has tools we haven’t had in the past, and it’s exposure for a great product that fits a need for more fans. It’s a great showcase for us and shows everything we have across the board.”

Starting Monday, January 28, CBS Sports HQ will air more than 30 hours of live programming from Atlanta leading up to the game. Its daily morning show, “Kanell and Bell,” hosted by Danny Kanell and Raja Bell, will be on site each day. “Pick 6 Rundown” brings to life a podcast Monday through Friday, and “Reiter’s Block” will air each day from Radio Row.

Leading up to Super Bowl LIII, CBS Sports HQ will show 10 hours of pregame coverage — and following the game, a live postgame show will air.

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Gerttula said the network knows the fans want the hours of extra programming around the year’s largest sporting event, so with the newfound ability to offer it to viewers, it’s a no-brainer to capitalize on the access and production ability on the ground in Atlanta.

The programming, for the most part, doesn’t deviate from the standard weekly programming on CBS Sports HQ, but it does provide an inside look at the week in Atlanta and offers more brand awareness at the event while engaging more people.

The Super Bowl itself will be streamed across platforms, including iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.

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“We’re able to reach more fans on televisions,” Gerttula said. “The cord-cutting audience can access something that’s free and easy to consume.”

Along with spreading the product further, CBS Sports HQ also gives the network an ability to produce more and better digital content than in the past. A 24/7 streaming network helps give the network’s sports programming an additional outlet for content when in the past it was limited to TV and radio allowed times.

The Super Bowl week coverage will kick off another year — it launched Feb. 28, 2018 — of learning for the young streaming network, Gerttula said. Logistically, this week the network will seem normal on the stream, but massive operations-team execution will be happening in Atlanta, setting up for what essentially is a test of future capabilities.

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“This is the first chance for us to flex operational muscles and produce things we couldn’t have done three years ago,” Gerttula said. “The beauty of this space is we’re always learning and experimenting. The data is real time. So when we have ideas, we can test them and we see the results.

“We’re going to learn a lot in year two, starting with the Super Bowl.”

Gerttula said the week in Atlanta will potentially be something they extend to other major sporting events, but how often is to be determined.

“We’ll be opportunistic,” he said. “We want to play to our strengths where we feel we can do something unique. It’s not something we’ll do all the time, but where we have an opportunity and can take advantage of it.”