TAMPA, Fla. – Nothing about the 2021 Super Bowl will be business-as-usual, but that offers opportunity for doing things that have never been done before, especially as all eyes focus on the Tampa Bay area.
Local radio station WWBA AM 820/FM 98.3/ FM 96.7, owned by Genesis Communications, has partnered with TSU Network, FITE.TV and Sports Talk Florida to create Tampa Bay Live 55!, a first-of-its-kind global livestream broadcast as a pre-game show on Sunday, February 7th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm EST.
The show will be broadcast from Sparkman Wharf on Tampa’s downtown waterfront. In addition, Tampa Bay Live 55! will air across the United States on a growing list of 20+ radio stations set to carry the pre-game programming.
Tampa Bay Live 55! will feature a dynamic combination of live and pre-recorded performances by Art Edmunds, Tiki Barber, Montel Williams, Titus O’Neil, Tino Martinez, and Ken Shamrock “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” as well as many other special guests over its 3 hours of live programming. At 4:00 pm, the show will transition into Westwood One’s national broadcast of the pre-game show to the NFL Super Bowl and its programming.
The executive producers of the show are United Cities Production and FX Group. Presenting sponsors include Film Tampa Bay, Panini America Trading Cards and Sparkman Wharf.
“It’s definitely not your traditional sports broadcast,” said Bruce Maduri, managing partner of United Cities Productions. “In addition to performances, Tampa Bay Live 55! Will cover the social and human side of sports – what visitors and celebrities are up to while they’re in Tampa Bay, who are they’re hanging out with, and much more. Tampa will be showcased as an awesome host city destination.”
Celebrity Performances
Celebrity performers and presenters at Tampa Bay Live 55! include: Tiki Barber, Brady Ackerman, Art Edmunds, Bubba The Love Sponge, Erik Kuselias, Viorica Bruni, Lauren Skeoch, Montel Williams, and Cam Lynch.
Additional special guests are Jamey Rootes (Houston Texans President), Titus O’Neil (WWE), Billy Q (MMA), Louis Murphy (Buccaneers), Stylez White (Buccaneers), Keith McCants (Buccaneers), Robert Blackmon (St. Petersburg City Councilman), Ken Hagan (Hillsborough County Commissioner), Tino Martinez (Yankees), and Carl Everette (Chicago White Sox).
“This kind of thing has never been done before,” said Kristian Kempel, executive producer of the show and owner of FX Group. “With COVID, livestreaming has become the norm, especially since people want to experience an event as big as this.”
To view the livestream broadcast, audiences can watch online at Sports Talk Florida (www.sportstalkflorida.com), TSU Social (download the app), and FITE.TV (www.fite.tv), a digital network for global sports and entertainment with 4 million+ followers.
This broadcast may be the first-of-its-kind for the Super Bowl, but it’s far from the last for sports. Following this event, Genesis Communications and FX Group have plans to stage similar livestream events during the NCAA’s March Madness and the Indy Car Grand Prix series.