Super Bowl: What time it starts, where to watch, what to expect at halftime and more
Super Bowl LIII — or 53, for the Roman numeral-challenged — kicks off Sunday evening.
Here’s everything NFL fans and commercial aficionados need to know about when the match-up starts, which football teams are playing, what channel to watch and what to expect at halftime.
What time does the Super Bowl kick off?
Super Bowl kick-off time is set for 6:30 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019. That means kick off is 5:30 Central, 4:30 Mountain and 3:30 Pacific.
If you get the time wrong, don’t worry: Those who tune in early can catch country music star Tim McGraw’s live pregame show, which starts at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, according to CMT.
Fans especially eager for Super Bowl content can switch on the show at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time (8:30 a.m. on the West Coast) when pregame coverage is scheduled to start, the Washington Post reports.
What TV channel is playing the game?
CBS is airing this year’s Super Bowl for those planning to watch on live TV — but the big game will also be streaming on CBSSports.com, as well as on the CBS Sports App, according to the network.
The broadcast crew will include Tony Romo and Jim Nantz, as well as Evan Washburn and Tracy Wolfson on the sidelines, according to the Post.
Which teams are competing?
Super Bowl LIII pits the New England Patriots against the Los Angeles Rams.
It will be the ninth championship that New England coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady take on together, according to the NFL. The Patriots are facing off against a team led by a relatively young coach, Sean McVay, which has led the league to describe the match-up as a “perennial vs. millennial” battle.
“Regardless of the outcome, the winning head coach in Super Bowl LIII will break a record,” the NFL says. “Should Bill Belichick hoist his sixth Lombardi Trophy, he would ... become the oldest head coach (66 years, 293 days old on game day) to win a Super Bowl. Should the Rams and Sean McVay emerge victorious, McVay would become the youngest head coach (33 years, 10 days) to do so.”
Who’s playing during the halftime show?
Maroon 5, the band led by singer Adam Levine, will join rappers Travis Scott and Big Boi to perform at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, which CBS describes as “the most-watched concert of the year, every year.”
Headliner Maroon 5 teased the performance earlier this month on Twitter.
Past Super Bowl performers include Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and — perhaps most famously — Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson.
Where is the game being played?
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, is hosting this year’s game — and it will begin with a little help from Atlanta native and Grammy winner Gladys Knight, who will sing the national anthem.
“I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta,” Knight said in a statement released by the NFL.
This story was originally published January 30, 2019 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Super Bowl: What time it starts, where to watch, what to expect at halftime and more."