What Every Live Event Can Learn From the Super Bowl
I’m a huge college football fan (#GoGators!), but I don’t really watch the NFL. I mean, I’m from Orlando, and we don’t really have a team, so I’ve just never been a big NFL fan. That said, I never miss the Super Bowl. I watch every minute, every year.
At its core, the Super Bowl is just a game on a field. Twenty-two players, a ball, and some lines on grass. For years, it was only experienced by the people sitting in the stadium… then came the power of video.
Now, more than 120 million people tune in. Many of them are not football fans at all. They tune in for the action, the excitement, and yes… the commercials. The Super Bowl has become a shared cultural moment, and video makes that possible.
There are hundreds of cameras, live streaming, and professional hosts. There are drones, kiss cams, and million-dollar ads. The production is extraordinary… but it’s not just the production. It’s the storytelling. We know the players before kickoff. We know where they grew up, what they overcame, and the role each one plays on the team. We see their parents in the stands. We hear their stories.
By the time the game starts, we are invested. The storytelling is intentional. It’s woven into the broadcast through interviews, features, replays, audio, and moments that capture emotion in real time.
Video does so much more than show plays on the field. It creates an experience. And that lesson applies far beyond sports.
Association annual meetings, global tradeshows, and corporate events create moments that people plan for, travel for, and build toward all year. Without thoughtful video and storytelling, what happens at these events stays in the room or on the tradeshow floor.
The right video strategy does more than document what happens — it creates an experience.
This doesn’t require a Super Bowl-sized budget. It requires intention. At CNTV, this is what we do every day. We don’t just record events. We help shape how they are experienced by telling the stories that matter most.
The interesting thing about the Super Bowl is that some of the most memorable moments happen when the game isn’t even being played.
That’s the power of storytelling. And when it’s done right, every team wins.