YouTube Plans Alternative Halftime Show for Super Bowl XLIX

In addition to its AdBitz channel, where viewers can see and vote for their favorite Super Bowl ads after the game, YouTube is also offering its very first Super Bowl halftime show. The show will stream against NBC’s televised halftime show on February 1st, which includes performances by Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz. Hosted by Harley Morenstein of EpicMealTime, the YouTube show will include performances and appearances from some of YouTube’s biggest names including Freddie Wong and Toby Turner.

youtube2According to Bloomberg, YouTube shared that “[people] spent 6.3 million hours watching last year’s Super Bowl ads on YouTube.” With those numbers at hand, YouTube feels that a halftime show offering makes sense.

“It’s a really good place to showcase our celebrities, our talent and creators,” said Suzie Reider, Google’s managing director of brand solutions.

The programming is set to include musical performances, as well as stunts and airings of fake Super Bowl ads. The show will be produced at YouTube’s Space LA studio with Collective Digital Studio as a partner, Bloomberg reports.

In a competitive market for online video ad dollars, YouTube hopes its halftime show will reveal the advantages of advertising on its platform. Online digital superstars, with millions of followers, are expected to make appearances. YouTube star Freddie Wong, creator of the acclaimed “Video Game High School” series, is one of many expected to create content for the show.

Reider described the YouTube show as the alternative destination for Super Bowl viewers that tune into the game for the enjoyment of the ads as opposed to the actual game.

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