It’s been a broadcast network tradition on Super Bowl Sunday to lend the entire programming day to the Big Game and Super Bowl 50 is certainly no exception. Since this is the 50th edition of the Super Bowl, CBS plans to start its programming at 11 a.m. ET and go all the way through the Super Bowl Trophy Presentation and Postgame Show which will end sometime between 10:15 and 10:30 p.m. ET so it means 11½ hours devoted to the Super Bowl.

From shows produced by NFL Films to a Phil Simms special that leads into the actual four-hour Super Bowl Today pregame, CBS will have plenty of programming that will fill time until the actual kickoff at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

Here’s the programming schedule for Sunday, February 7 on CBS:

11:00 AM, ET – SUPER BOWL 50: BEFORE THEY WERE PROS (produced by NFL Films)
12:00 NOON, ET — ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL (produced by NFL Films)
1:00 PM, ET — PHIL SIMMS ALL-IRON TEAM: SUPER BOWL EDITION
2:00-6:00 PM, ET — THE SUPER BOWL TODAY
6:00-6:30 PM, ET – SUPER BOWL ON CBS KICK-OFF SHOW
6:30 PM, ET – SUPER BOWL 50
Approximately 10:00 PM, ET — SUPER BOWL TODAY POST-GAME SHOW and Trophy Presentation

So what will be these programs be about? We have some brief episode synopses from CBS:

11:00 AM, ET: SUPER BOWL 50: BEFORE THEY WERE PROS—In SUPER BOWL 50: BEFORE THEY WERE PROS we will follow NFL players and legends who made it to the pinnacle of their sport as they go back to the communities that helped shape them into men of high character. NFL Films will follow these players to capture the lessons that the game of football has taught them by highlighting stories of family, resiliency, teamwork and mentorship.

12:00 NOON, ET: ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL—ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL is NFL Films’ annual look back at the greatest sights and sounds of the 2015 NFL season. The one-hour special will feature the best of nearly 100 players and coaches wired for sound, focusing on the most exciting moments and the best teams on the journey to Santa Clara for Super Bowl 50.

1:00 PM, ET: PHIL SIMMS ALL-IRON TEAM: SUPER BOWL EDITION —CBS Sports’ lead NFL analyst and former N.Y. Giants Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms will take a look back at the evolution of the Super Bowl over the last 50 years and will highlight a player or coach from each decade that represents what the Super Bowl was about at that time.  In addition, the show will feature legendary broadcaster Dick Enberg, who called eight Super Bowls including the first one Simms worked as an analyst in 1996.  Enberg will talk about his memories as a broadcaster, including being involved with Super Bowl I in Los Angeles.  [The All-Iron Trophy is an old fashioned iron emblematic of Simms’ obsession with ironing.]

2:00 PM, ET: THE SUPER BOWL TODAY—THE SUPER BOWL TODAY also will look back at the history leading up to the game with special features, historic vignettes that encapsulate the eras surrounding the Super Bowl, past and present player interviews and will look to the future of what the Super Bowl will be like in the next 50 years.

Originating live from sets at Super Bowl City at the foot of Market Street in San Francisco and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, James Brown, Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Tony Gonzalez and Bart Scott, along with Ian Eagle and Greg Gumbel, will host the Network’s pre-game show previewing all the football and excitement leading up to Super Bowl 50. Trent Green, Amy Trask, NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, reporters Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn, and Allie LaForce, along with Contributor Jim Rome, also will cover the pre-game activities.

6:00 PM, ET: SUPER BOWL ON CBS KICK-OFF SHOW — The SUPER BOWL ON CBS KICK-OFF SHOW featuring pre-game musical performances, the singing of the National Anthem, team introductions and a special tribute to Super Bowl MVPs.

6:30 PM, ET: SUPER BOWL 50 – Kick-off of Super Bowl 50 live from Santa Clara on the CBS Television Network. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will call the game while Tracy Wolfson and Evan Washburn will report from the sidelines.

SUPER BOWL TODAY POST-GAME SHOW and Trophy Presentation – Brown, Esiason, Cowher, Gonzalez and Scott will recap the highlights of Super Bowl 50 and Nantz will present the Lombardi Trophy to the Super Bowl 50 champions.

Immediately following the SUPER BOWL TODAY POST-GAME SHOW, extended post-game coverage will continue live with Brown, Esiason, Cowher, Gonzalez and Scott on the SUPER BOWL TODAY POST-GAME SHOW on CBS Sports Network.

As for the game itself, CBS plans some technological advances for the Big Game.

CBS plans to unveil Eyevision 360 which will provide a 360° perspective of Levi’s Stadium. An array of 36 cameras have been installed around the upper deck of the structure allowing CBS to freeze or rotate around a play. CBS first unveiled a version of Eyevision for Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa and has been improving it ever since:

We saw ESPN use pylon cameras on Monday Night Football and during the College Football Playoff. CBS has its own pylon cameras which it used for Thursday Night Football and plans to utilize them for Super Bowl 50. It will place 16 cameras in eight custom-molded pylons which will allow CBS to provide perspective on the field for scoring plays. They’ll also have embedded microphones to pick up the field audio.

CBS will use Super Bowl 50 to unveil a new logo and graphics package:

CBS Sports new logo
The present CBS Sports logo has been in use since 1981 and the network felt it was time to update the look for the 21st Century.

Finally, CBS will use Next-Gen Stats from the NFL which brings fans a broader set of statistical data from the players on the field in real-time.

CBS has been looking forward to Super Bowl 50 for quite some time and plans to bring fans plenty of programming and features to ensure they know which network is the Home of the Big Game.

[CBS]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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