Super Bowl LI overflows with streams

Seeking to watch the Super Bowl but not within sight of a TV?

You're in good company -- and good luck. Super Bowl LI will be beamed in myriad alternative ways this Sunday, receivable on almost everything but the fillings in your teeth. And about 16 percent of your fellow U.S. viewers will likely watch the New England Patriots take on the Atlanta Falcons through these alternative streaming means offered by Fox and Verizon, according to a survey commissioned by native advertising firm MGID.

Given the 110-million+ viewership expected for the game, that streaming audience share represents a huge bump up from the 3.96-million unique viewers who connected last year to CBS's live stream of Super Bowl 50 across laptops, desktops, tablets, connected-TV devices, and mobile phones.

Fox Sports, which also owns the broadcast TV game rights, is delivering a free  ("non-authenticated") live stream of SB LI, including all the cool commercials and the halftime show with Lady Gaga, at FoxSportsGo.com. The big game will also stream on iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon tablets and through a variety of TV-connected devices, including Roku players and TVs, Apple TV receivers, Amazon Fire TV players, Google Chromecast streaming sticks, and the Xbox One Console. It's also on SlingTV and PlayStation Vue, as well.

A mere 2 percent of MGID survey respondents expect to watch on a mobile phone. NFL games in the U.S., including the Super Bowl, are only available in the mobile domain to Verizon Wireless' 142.75 million customers using the NFL Mobile or go90 apps. Streaming the game, however, would not count against your data plan.

Ironically, the Federal Communications Commission's new leadership shelved plans Monday for foisting enhanced Rokus and Apple TVs on the cable industry as a forced alternative for their monthly fee set-top boxes. Fox's move suggests it's too late to lock the gates: many cows (and Patriots and Falcon fans) have already left the barn.