Dive Brief:
- While Katy Perry performed to an estimated 100 million viewers during Sunday's Super Bowl Halftime Show, YouTube was running its first ever online live halftime performance.
- Numbers haven't been released for live viewership yet and YouTube took down its usual viewership ticker for the 39-minute show so a direct comparison isn't available to NBC's television performance.
- According to Liam Collins, head of YouTube Space L.A., the goal wasn't to directly compete with the official Super Bowl Halftime show, but rather offer a complimentary supplement to the TV experience and a way to draw attention to YouTube star performers.
Dive Insight:
It's goo that YouTube is making it clear that the halftime show wasn't an attempt to realistically compete with the mountainous viewership of the Super Bowl— but rather offer an alternative or complimentary second screen experience. The bohemouth that is the Super Bowl audience is too high a mountain to climb for any programming really, but that doesn't mean there's isn't an audience to be had for a digital halftime show. So while numbers aren't available for the programming, the option of a 'second screen' experience for future Super Bowls is a smart one.
