NBC says 'equipment failure' caused black screen during Super Bowl
TV screens briefly went blank and lost sound during NBC’s broadcast of the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Viewers were met with about 15-30 seconds of, well, nothing during a commercial break in the middle of the second quarter. Many people on Twitter were confused, and some joked that it was the best commercial of the game, because of course the internet did.
“Was a commercial just a black screen? What does it mean!!!?” tweeted Josh Groban when it happened.
No lie my TV went black for a minute wtf..
— Gento (@YMDgento) February 5, 2018
Was a commercial just a black screen? What does it mean!!!?
— Jonsandman (@JonsandmanTv) February 5, 2018
Everyone saw a black screen in that last commercial break, but it was actually just an extreme close up of an @Oreo. Brilliant. #SuperBowl
— Jeremy Bingaman (@iowaradioguy) February 5, 2018
That black screen commercial tho #SuperBowl
— Dominator051 (@dominator051) February 5, 2018
Shortly after that slightly embarrassing period of dead air, an NBC spokesperson used Twitter to explain that it was caused by an equipment failure and that, despite some concerns, we didn’t miss anything.
“We had a brief equipment failure that we quickly resolved. No game action or commercial time were missed,” said a NBC Sports spokesperson in a tweet from the official NBC Sports account.
From NBC Sports spokesperson:
"We had a brief equipment failure that we quickly resolved. No game action or commercial time were missed."— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) February 5, 2018
Check out more hilarious reactions to the black screen below:
That black screen is what happens when a company’s super bowl commercial check bounces
— Los (@GrapeSodaPapi) February 5, 2018
i feel bad for whoever had the job that caused that black screen #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/MFW3qc8sIQ
— anissah (@anissahsurita7) February 5, 2018
Found out what caused the black screen #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/xS43xRUYp4
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) February 5, 2018
Loved the black screen of death Super Bowl ad. Really interesting commentary on the futility of existence and our mortality. Also probably cost NBC millions in lost ad revenue.
— Erik Kain (@erikkain) February 5, 2018
I kinda miss the black screen. #SuperBowl
— Vlada Gelman (@VladaGelman) February 5, 2018
the super bowl cutting to a black screen for 30 seconds was more entertaining than the halftime show
— mymymarcos SEE PINNED ???? (@charlipastroye) February 5, 2018
