by Thinus Ferreira
America's 2021 American National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl LV will be broadcast live on ESPN's 2 ESPN Africa channels, ESPN (DStv 218 / StarSat 248) and ESPN2 (DStv 219 / StarSat 249) early on Monday morning 8 February 2021.
The African broadcast of the 55th Super Bowl will include the entertainment halftime show but not the usually iconic American TV commercials.
ESPN tells TVwithThinus that in the place of the American commercials, viewers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa will see filler promos and other localised commercials, similar to when M-Net is showing American award-shows like the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards live.
With Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers taking on the defending champions of Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the ESPN coverage on the ESPN Africa channels will start on Monday 8 February at 01:30 in the morning (Central African Time CAT), with repeats at 07:30 and 14:30 later during the day on ESPN, and a repeat on ESPN2 at 20:30.
This year the Super Bowl LV halftime show will be headlined by The Weeknd. America's "The Star-Spangled Banner" national anthem will be a duet this year, performed by the R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan and the country singer Erich Church ahead of the match.
"This NFL Super Bowl LV is set to be a quarterback showdown as one of the league's brightest young stars, Mahomes, takes on one of its greatest, Brady, and both have a lot at stake," says Evert van der Veer, vice president of media networks at The Walt Disney Company Africa.
"On top of that, for the first time, fans across Africa will also be able to enjoy the world-renowned halftime show. It's going to be an incredible night."
