Super Bowlfans were not impressed as they turned on Channel 5 to watch the major sporting event. The New England Patriots were taking on the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California, with presenters Dermot O'Leary and Sam Quek hosting the live event for British viewers. However, some viewers were left baffled about why Dermot, who is known for hosting This Morning on ITV, was presenting the football game. One viewer asked: "Why is Dermot O'Leary hosting the Super Bowl coverage on channel 5?" Another sarcastically added: "Whenever I watch the Super Bowl, I always wonder to myself what Dermot O'Learys thoughts are..."
A third raged: "Channel 5 coverage this year for the super bowl so its going to be s**t," as a fourth agreed: "Dermot O'Leary as a sports presenter says it all, get it back on the BBC." However, one fan chimed in: "He's been doing the NFL for the whole season tbf."
The broadcast for Channel 5 is being produced by Hungry Bear Media, and Hungry Bear executive producer Luke Shiach admitted the UK response to the Super Bowl has been mixed.
He told Variety: "The big problem for the NFL gaining traction in the U.K. is it's very stop-starty with ad breaks built into the actual game mechanics for the U.S. TV market. So across a game, I think it's like 28 or 30 ad breaks. We don't have as many ad break requirements on British TV - in fact, we're not allowed them," admitting that "hardcore" NFL fans were not keen on their format of adding entertainment to it, including quizzes and games.
He added that Dermot has faced chaos while hosting the Super Bowl games, saying: "We never know when there's going to be a break, because it's dictated by the match. We're in the gallery listening to the U.S. gallery, because we take the U.S. feed. Often that's chaos. Sometimes they're fighting about whether they're going to a break or staying on the field. We're following them. We've got Dermot on the floor going, "Are we coming to the studio, or are we going to punditry, or are we going to a break? What are we doing?" And we'll sometimes have no notice, and literally, we'll say, 'Dermot coming to you in 10 seconds and you've got a minute to fill,' or 'We've got a highlight or a replay, let's talk about that.'
"And then he's got stats to get through and guests to bring in and then we've got to shut it down and get back to the play before we miss a snap, because we were told if you missed the beginning of a play, people get furious. So it's been an unbelievable process.
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