The Philadelphia Eagles are slated to take on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Feb. 9, as part of the most anticipated event in professional football — the Super Bowl. The game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. from New Orleans, Louisiana. Here’s how to make the best of the Big Game before, during and after the show. All times Eastern time unless noted.
Where can I tune into the Big Game?
This year, Super Bowl LIX will be broadcast on Fox stations. In Connecticut, that may mean you are watching on WTIC Hartford (local channel 61 – Huskyvision channel 9), EGGB Springfield (local channel 40.2 and 6) or WNYW New York (local channel 5).
If you’re using a TV streaming service (like YouTube TV or Fubo) or the Fox Sports app, log in using your cable provider’s credentials and choose the station you usually watch Fox programming on. Tubi, a free ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox, will also be webcasting the game for free this year — all you need to do is create an account.
On the radio, you can hear the live broadcast on Westwood One Sports affiliates, including WUCS FM 97.9 Windsor Locks-Hartford, WAVZ AM 1300 New Haven and WBSM AM 1420 New Bedford-Providence. If you subscribe to Sirius XM satellite radio or Tunein Premium streaming radio, the game will also be available on their NFL channels.
Pre-game and halftime entertainment
The football game usually begins around 6:30 p.m., but Fox Sports’ pre-game coverage will go on the air at 1 p.m. with analysis and concerts to help get folks excited. This year, the NFL announced that rapper Post Malone will offer his unique style of performance outside of the Caesars Superdome before the game. Louisiana native Jon Batiste will perform the national anthem.
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and Lauren Daigle, considered New Orleans legends, will perform “America the Beautiful” and local vocalist Ledisi Young will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to help kick off the celebration. Although the exact time hasn’t been announced, Fox will also broadcast a pre-taped interview with President Donald Trump during the pre-game show.
Once the game gets going and the horn sounds, rapper Kendrick Lamar will headline the halftime show, sponsored by Apple Music. Lamar previously appeared on the Super Bowl stage as a guest artist alongside Snoop Dogg and other hip-hop greats in 2022.
Commercial breaks
Superbowl-Ads.com, a webpage dedicated to archiving and discussing these commercials, has announced some of this year’s campaigns will include celebrity cameos like Charli XCX and Martha Stewart promoting the Uber Eats delivery service and Antonio Banderas promoting Bosch’s wide product ranges, to name a few.
Numerous perennial advertisers are also set to return, with new spots promoting Pringle’s chips and Reese’s with some silliness — and others offering more serious notes, like Dove Soap tackling body confidence set to HER’s version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Some brands will be newcomers to the Super Bowl ad arena, with Haagen-Dazs’ “Fast and Furious” and Totino’s Pizza Rolls “alien” ads being something to look out for.
According to the Associated Press, Dunkin’ Donuts has secured the first advertising spot after kick-off, and reported that a 30-second national placement sold for at least $8 million this year.
There will also be a lot of placements for local advertising, like those from Connecticut businesses, car dealerships and schools like UConn. Keep your eyes peeled for those too, since special promotions and other regional benefits may only be seen by you!
Alternative programming and specials
If you’re not interested in the game, or just want to switch between channels, here’s what else will be on:
An annual favorite program “The Puppy Bowl” will broadcast on specialty channel Animal Planet (Huskyvision channel 38) starting at 2 p.m. In its 21st edition this year, the broadcast raises awareness of animal adoption. Team Ruff and Team Fluff will compete to win the “Lombarky” trophy in this cuddle-friendly Super Bowl spoof.
WNTH New Haven (local channel 8 – Huskyvision channel 8) will air an edition of “Game Time with Boomer Esiason” at 1 p.m. on Super Sunday. The former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback will interview football personalities of note, followed by live coverage of the NBA, and after, regularly scheduled episodes of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune.”
WFSB Hartford (local channel 3 – Huskyvision channel 3) and WSHM Springfield (local channel 33) will air PGA Tour golf from the final round of the Phoenix Open starting at 3 p.m., with a local presentation of Eyewitness News at 6:30 p.m. Selections from “60 Minutes,” “Watson” and “Tracker” round out their evening schedule.
WVIT New Britain (local channel 30 – Huskyvision channel 4) will air the European Figure Skating Championships at 4 p.m. with a local newscast at 6 p.m. and “Jurassic World: The Fallen Kingdom” during the majority of the evening.
Numerous channels will be counter-programming with marathons of favorite shows, such as Comedy Central (Huskyvision channel 22) with “The Office,” “Family Guy” and “South Park,” ION Network (WHPX local channel 26 – Huskyvision channel 12) with multiple editions of “NCIS”, and Food Network (Huskyvision channel 60) with “Bobby’s Triple Threat” and “Beat Bobby Flay” starting at 3 p.m.
Whether you’re all in on football, checking in on the commercials, or just having fun with friends, hopefully our guide helps you be prepared to enjoy this year’s Big Game!