Super Bowl LXI is the planned American football championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2026 season. The game is scheduled to be played on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. This would be the ninth Super Bowl hosted by the Greater Los Angeles area, and the second at this venue, the first being Super Bowl LVI in 2022.
 SoFi Stadium in 2023 | |
| Date | February 14, 2027 |
|---|---|
| Stadium | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | Broadcast: ABC Cable: ESPN ESPN2 (Manningcast) ESPN Deportes (Spanish) Streaming: ESPN+ NFL+ |
| Radio in the United States | |
| Network | Westwood One |
The game is planned to be nationally televised by ESPN and ABC marking the first Super Bowl simulcast between the two sister networks, the first time ABC has aired the Super Bowl since Super Bowl XL in 2006, and the first time that ESPN has ever aired the Super Bowl.[1][2]
Background
editHost selection
editThe league has made all decisions regarding hosting sites from Super Bowl LVII (held in February 2023) onward. There is no bidding process per site: the league selects a potential venue unilaterally, the chosen team puts together a hosting proposal, and then the league votes to determine whether it is acceptable.[3]
On December 13, 2023, the NFL announced that SoFi Stadium, home of both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers, was selected as the Super Bowl site.[4][5][6]
Broadcasting
editUnited States
editTelevision
editSuper Bowl LXI will be televised nationally by ESPN and simulcast on ABC as part of the 11-year NFL television contract, which allows a four-year rotation between CBS, Fox, NBC and ABC/ESPN. This would mark the first time ABC has aired the Super Bowl since Super Bowl XL, and the first time ever that ESPN has aired the Super Bowl.[2][7] When ESPN took over the Monday Night Football package from ABC in 2006, the NFL was reluctant to give the cable network any broadcasting rights to the Super Bowl or any playoff games. ESPN was then given the rights to air a first-round Wild Card playoff game on the channel after the conclusion of the 2014 season.[8] The cable-only playoff game experiment would only last one season, and ABC would start simulcasting all of ESPN's playoff games beginning in the 2015 season.[9] But the NFL refrained from having an ABC/ESPN simulcast of the Super Bowl until Super Bowl LXI.[2]
It is expected that the alternative Manningcast will be on ESPN2, and a Spanish-language feed of the game on ESPN Deportes.[10]
Streaming
editThe game is planned to be streamed live on ESPN+, as well as NFL+ via mobile devices.
Radio
editWestwood One holds the national radio rights to the game.[11]
International
edit- In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the game will be televised on the free-to-air channel TBC.
- In Latin America, the game will be televised by ESPN and its streaming and on-demand platform Disney+.
- In Germany and Austria, the game will be televised by TBC.
References
edit- ^ Sherman, Alex; Young, Jabari (March 18, 2021). "NFL finalizes new 11-year media rights deal, Amazon gets exclusive Thursday Night rights". CNBC. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c Schefter, Adam (December 13, 2023). "Super Bowl LXI in 2027 to be played at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles". ABC7 Los Angeles. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
- ^ Teope, Herbie (May 23, 2018). "Arizona New Orleans Chosen As Super Bowl Hosts". www.NFL.com. Retrieved February 2, 2020.[dead link]
- ^ Jones, Jonathan (December 13, 2023). "Super Bowl expected to return to SoFi in 2027: Los Angeles area to host big game for second time since 2022". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Chavkin, Daniel (December 13, 2023). "SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles Expected to Host Super Bowl LXI, per Report". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Schefter, Adam (December 13, 2023). "NFL to play 2027 Super Bowl in Los Angeles". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
- ^ Howard, Chelsea (March 6, 2019). "Next NFL TV deal could end AFC, NFC split on Sunday afternoons, report says". Sporting News. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Chase, Chris (April 22, 2014). "ESPN to broadcast first ever NFL playoff game in 2015". For The Win. USA Today. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Coelho, Ana Livia (May 11, 2015). "NFL Wild Card Playoff Game Will Return to ESPN – and Be Simulcast for the First Time on ABC" (Press release). ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
- ^ Schiffer, Alex (September 11, 2024). "ESPN Will Have a ManningCast for the Super Bowl". Front Office Sports. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (March 28, 2022). "Westwood One has a new deal with the NFL, with all primetime games available for free in the NFL app". Awful Announcing. Retrieved June 11, 2024.