Last year’s Super Bowl 48 between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos was the most-watched TV broadcast in American history. More than 117 million people are expected to watch Super Bowl 49 between the Seahawks and New England Patriots this year, likely breaking last year’s record. But for fans not near a TV, the NFL is, for the first time, letting fans watch Super Bowl 49 online free live stream as well.
Super Bowl 49 kickoff between the Seahawks and Patriots is slated for 6:30 EST / 3:30 PST. The pre-game shows have been going all day on ESPN, NFL Network and others, which is par for the course. But with Super Bowl bets being even and the game officially being labeled a pick-em, even those who can’t watch on TV will be clamoring to watch the Super Bowl online to see how their bet’s shaping up.
It’s a bit surprising to see the NFL and NBC not only making a Super Bowl live stream available, but actually promoting that fans can watch Super Bowl 49 online. NBC was officially charging advertisers up to $3 million per 30-second Super Bowl ad slot, though some reports have put the price tag at closer to $4.5 million. That’s big TV-based money to sacrifice by letting fans watch Super Bowl online free.
But NBC has also charged companies a separate fee to make sure fans watch their Super Bowl ads online too. In fact, according to one report, an advertiser specifically purchased an online-only ad spot to play in the Super Bowl live stream, saving some money while still ensuring their ad will be seen.
It’s that latter assurance that’s brought us to the point where we can watch Super Bowl online free live streaming. The most recent World Cup was the most live-streamed sporting event in history, bringing the Watch ESPN app to its knees. When the College Football Playoffs got underway, the ESPN App again faltered due to demand for live-streaming football.
Clearly football fans want to watch online, even when the games are on a major network. So in spite of the 117-million-plus people expected to watch the Seahawks take on the Patriots on TV, it’s likely that the demand to watch Super Bowl 49 online free will be intense as well.
While part of that is due to social changes in how we watch football, an even larger part may be how evenly matched these teams seem to be.
Russell Wilson vs Tom Brady is a big storyline, with a third-year quarterback (Wilson) leading his team to its second straight Super Bowl to take on a quarterback (Brady) playing in his NFL-record sixth Super Bowl. Though Brady had the better season, Wilson is as effective on the ground as he is through the air, and his late-game heroics against Green Bay in the NFC Championship game showed he can channel some luck as well.
Likewise, Rob Gronkowski vs Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary should be a good matchup, with the nod going to the Patriots if the Kam Chancellor injury turns out to be worse than Seattle’s letting on. Cornerback Richard Sherman shut-down the Broncos wide receivers last year, and he’ll try to do the same against the Patriots. But as we watch Super Bowl 49 online free or on TV, Sherman can only guard one or two men, so a strong Seahawks defense will be vital to contain Gronk.
The Seahawks vs Patriots game on the ground is equally compelling. New England re-signed LeGarrette Blount late in the season after the Steelers cut him, and he’s been a big threat with Shane Vereen. The Seahawks are more of a one-trick pony with Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for 1,306 yards this season, though Seahawks QB Wilson had 849 rushing yards of his own this season and will force the Patriots to mind the run.
Between the Super Bowl 49 odds being even, the point favorite being a wash, and both teams being evenly matched, the 2015 Super Bowl is one of most anticipated in years. Couple that with the first time it’s been possible to watch Super Bowl online free live streaming, and the NFL hype train is in high gear.
If for some reason you can’t watch the Seahawks vs Patriots Super Bowl live free on TV, you can watch Super Bowl 49 online free live stream Seahawks Patriots three ways. The best is to check out the NBC Sports Super Bowl live stream free online page right here. The last two ways are to watch the NBC Sports Live Extra page or to check out this additional page on NBC’s website. Unlike any other Seahawks or Patriots game you’ve watched live, you can’t watch Super Bowl live stream online on DirecTV. NBC’s contract with the NFL ensures that only NBC can live stream Super Bowl 49.
