Super Bowl XXIX - Television and Entertainment

Television and Entertainment

The game was broadcast in the United States by ABC with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentators Frank Gifford and Dan Dierdorf. Lynn Swann (Chargers sideline) and Lesley Visser (49ers sideline) served as sideline reporters. During that Super Bowl, Visser became the first woman assigned to a Super Bowl sideline. Visser had previously become the first woman sportscaster to cover the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony, when she covered Super Bowl XXVI for CBS. Brent Musburger hosted all the events with the help of then-ABC Sports analyst Dick Vermeil, Musburger's regular color commentator on ABC's college football telecasts, and then-New York Jets quarterback Boomer Esiason. This would be the final Super Bowl hosted by Musburger, as all subsequent Super Bowls on ABC were hosted by ESPN's Chris Berman following the Disney purchase of ABC (which included ESPN), and the subsequent integration of ESPN and ABC Sports (now ESPN on ABC). Also, the trophy presentation for this game was the last to be held in the winning team's locker room, as all subsequent Lombardi Trophy presentations would be held on the field.

This was the last Super Bowl broadcast by the Monday Night team of Michaels, Gifford and Dierdorf. This was the broadcast team for Monday Night Football from 1987–1997. They also worked ABC's coverage of Super Bowls XXII and XXV. This would also be the last Super Bowl aired on ABC until the 1999 season (when Al Michaels called the game with Boomer Esiason).

On the Tuesday prior to the Super Bowl, the ABC sitcom Full House aired an episode called "Super Bowl Fun Day" involving two main characters actually at the game. (Full House was set in San Francisco, and this was the only time during the show's run that the 49ers advanced to a Super Bowl aired on ABC). A week earlier, the Seinfeld episode "The Label Maker" involved Jerry trying to give away his tickets to the game. He eventually decided to go, but unfortunately was stuck sitting next to Newman.

To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special 75th anniversary logo was painted at midfield. Each player also wore a patch on their jerseys with the same logo. During the regular season, teams also wore "throwback" jerseys for selected games. The 49ers wore their throwbacks (which paid tribute to the 1957 Niners) for most of the season, this game included.

30 second ads for Super Bowl XXIX went for $1.15 Million, the first time that Super Bowl ads exceeded the $1,000,000 mark.

This Super Bowl aired in over 150 countries worldwide. It was simulcast in Canada on CTV and TVA (in French), in Mexico on Televisa's Canal 5, and later aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.

Following the game ABC premiered the television drama Extreme starring James Brolin; this was the last series to premiere following the Super Bowl until Family Guy premiered following Super Bowl XXXIII and is one of only four in the last fourteen years to premiere following a Super Bowl (joining Family Guy, its spinoff American Dad!, and Undercover Boss which premiered following Super Bowl XLIV), since the networks have preferred to have new episodes of established shows to catch as much of the post-game audience as possible.

This Super Bowl would later be featured on NFL's Greatest Games under the title Exercise in Excellence. The Super Bowl highlight film on which the episode was based was the only Super Bowl highlight film to be narrated by Harry Kalas.