Fox said its live stream of Super Bowl LI, an overtime thriller between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, delivered an “average minute audience” of 1.72 million, up 23 percent from last year’s average of 1.4 million.

Fox said that average was also 224% greater than its last Super Bowl stream in 2014, which notched an average minute audience of 530,523.

Update:Fox told B&C that the stream of Super Bowl LI pulled in 4.42 million unique viewers. CBS’s live stream of Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers drew 3.96 million unique viewers. .

RELATED: Fox Prepares for Super Bowl Streaming Challenge

The free, live stream for Super Bowl LI, which ran into a temporary problem late in the game, was offered via FoxSportsGo.com, the Fox Sports Go app on tablets and supported connected devices, on smartphones through Verizon (NFL Mobile and go90), and the NFL app on Xbox One and Windows 10.

RELATED: Fox Sets Free Super Bowl Stream

Fox said the game, won 34-28 by the Patriots on Sunday, delivered the network a record 172 million total viewers for all or part of the game, and an average audience of 113.7 million watched on Fox, Fox Deportes and Fox Sports GO & NFL Digital, including 111.3 million on Fox alone.

Nielsen also announced that the telecast of Super Bowl LI drew an average audience of 111.3 million viewers, and an average of 53.6 million homes, and delivered a preliminary 45.3 U.S. household rating. The company said preliminary estimates are that 70% of U.S. homes with TVs in use were tuned to the Super Bowl LI telecast.

Nielsen said there were 190.8 million social media interactions across Facebook and Twitter from 48.3 million people in the U.S. related to the game on Sunday. On Twitter, each person in the U.S. “interacted” 4.4 times on average, whiel there were 175.5 million interactions on Facebook in the U.S. about the game.

Cox Communications will run an ad during Super Bowl LI Sunday regionally in San  Diego to pump Panoramic WiFi, a new whole-home WiFi product that the operator started to roll out in  California last fall.

The ad is part of a larger marketing campaign, developed in partnership with Doner, that Cox will use also use print, outdoor and digital components to promote the whole-home offering as Cox expands the availability of the product.

Comcast took a similar approach last year when it ran a spot showcasing X1 during last year’s Super Bowlon CBS in dozens of the MSO’s local markets.

Cox’s ad to be shown during Super Bowl uses a family of Parkour and Acrobatic artists to “portray the exciting feats of ‘Wall-to-Wall Fast’ Panoramic WiFi,” and how the new platform can keep everyone and their devices connected in every corner of the home. Working with director Joseph Kahn, known for directing music videos for U2, Moby, and DMX, the routine was filmed forwards and backwards “to show how the product defies expectations and just how truly exceptional the coverage is,” Cox said.

Watch the ad:

Cox has been asked for pricing details on Panoramic WiFi, but this customer Web page notes that it utilizes the Arris TG2472, a 24x8 DOCSIS 3.0-based, dual-band 802.11ac WiFi modem, in tandem with optional Wireless Extenders, Cox’s My WiFi in-home networking monitoring platform/app, and features a “WiFi Centric” pro install, and 24/7 “enhanced support.” For Cox’s 1-Gig “Gigablast” service, which currently uses FTTP technology, the MSO is supporting Panoramic WiFi with a managed Netgear R6300 router.

Update: Cox said the new WiFi product is currently available in all its California markets, and that it will expand it to additional Cox markets later this year. Its Panoramic WiFi product, including the premium modem/WiFi router combo, costs $9.99 per month, and an additional $4 per month per WiFi extender, if needed. Pro install charges also apply.

RELATED: Comcast Aims to Smarten Up, Simplify the Home Network

Kevin Hart, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Cox, hinted at the new whole-home WiFi product last fall in a tech roundtable held prior to the SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia.  In addition to using high-end WiFi gateways, the plan also includes the implantation of RDK-B, the broadband-facing version of the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated stack for video devices and gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications.

RELATED: Cable Tech at a Crossroads

Cox is among a growing number of ISPs that have deployed, or soon plan to offer, specialized whole-home WiFi products.

RELATED: WiFi ‘Volcanos’ No Longer Cut It

“Broadband service is no longer just a fast internet connection to your home. Today people expect WiFi that connects all devices anywhere in the home – around walls, upstairs, down stairs, on the patio,” said Gaston Vaneri, senior vice president of brand at Cox, said in a statement. “They want continuous access – to stats, instant replays, social feeds. Panoramic WiFi from Cox delivers just that – wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, backwards and forward. We had a little fun showing that with the launch spot.” 

Fox Sports and LiveLike will add a dash of VR to Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

They’re teaming up to offer a virtual, digitally-rendered suite during the game that will present highlights from the game in near real-time via the Fox Sports VR app for iOS and Android devices and tight integration with the Samsung Gear VR platform.

They said the VR experience, offered during Super Bowl LI, will enable users to pick from six different cameras placed throughout NRG Stadium in Houston. They expect to provide 20 of the most exciting plays from the game, as well as prepared content for pre- and post-game.

Though use of the app in tandem with Gear VR and Cardboard headsets will provide an immersive 360-degree experience, viewers will also be able to view it via the app without a headset.

Other partners include Avid, which will provide the experience’s augmented reality graphics platform, Twizted-Design (data-driven graphical integrations, EVS (UHD replays technology), and Ateme (multiscreen UHD and HD encoding).

The Super Bowl LI partnership is one of several recent ones between Fox Sports and LiveLike, which also teamed up for MLS Cup late last year, and last fall’s Big Ten championship football game.

RELATED: Fox Sports Lands Audi as Sponsor of MLS Cup VR Coverage

A key difference is that those previous offerings stitched in a live 2D feed of those games into the digital suite. For Super Bowl LI, the intention is to provide the near real-time highlights and to offer a taste of VR, given that many people will be watching the game in relatively large parties.

“I believe this will be the first of many Super Bowls broadcast in VR, making February 5th a historic day for both LiveLike and for the larger VR industry as a whole,” Miheer Walavalkar, co-founder and chief business officer of LiveLike, said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to bring what we believe is the most innovative sports viewing experience to the Super Bowl via the FOX Sports VR app” added Michael Davies, SVP of field & technical operations at Fox Sports. “The LiveLike platform helps us bring viewers inside the stadium for the best moments throughout the game and replay them from the six different camera angles in virtual reality.”

Comcast has added several Super Bowl-related features to its X1 platform ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LI matchup between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

RELATED: Fox Sets Free Super Bowl Stream

Via X1, subs can now watch 30-minute recaps of all Super Bowls, watch highlights from this year’s playoffs, and stream related Web clips several “top” sports networks, and get a sneak peek at some of this year’s Super Bowl commercials.

That showcase is being featured in X1’s Xfinity On Demand area, and can also be pulled up via the X1 sports app or by saying “sports” into the X1 voice remote.  The sports app will also supply real time player and team stats during the game. 

RELATED: Comcast Backs Bet on X1

About half of Comcast’s pay TV base is on X1. Comcast ran a spot showcasing X1 during last year’s Super Bowl that ran on CBS in dozens of the MSO’s local markets.

Update: Cox Communications confirmed that its X1-powered version of its Contour TV service is also supporting these recently introduced Super Bowl-related features.

Roku said it is gearing up to provide a free live stream Super Bowl LI, when the New England Patriots line up against the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday (Feb.  5) at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Roku’s coverage, to be offered via the Fox Sports Go channel on the streaming platform, will include the pre-game show starting at 2 p.m. ET, up until the kick-off at 6:30 p.m. ET.

In addition to also streaming the halftime show with Lady Gaga, the associated Field Pass stream will supply complementary “sights and sounds in the stadium,” Roku said, noting that Roku users will also be able to watch the game with a Sling TV or PlayStation Vue subscription.

Fox is also offering its live, non-authenticated stream of Super Bowl LI at FoxSportsGo.com, as well as apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Amazon tablets, and other connected TV devices such as Apple TV boxes, Android TV-powered devices, Fire TV players, the Google Chromecast, and the Xbox One console. Verizon has the streaming rights for smartphones.

As a first, Fox will work with more than 170 Fox affiliates to deliver local ads via the online video feed of the big game.

RELATED: Fox Sets Free Super Bowl Stream

The streaming bar has been set heading into Sunday’s big game. CBS’s live stream of Super Bowl 50 last year between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers drew 3.96 million unique viewers across laptops, desktops, tablets, connected TV devices and mobile phones.

Fox said it will offer a live, non-authenticated stream of Super Bowl LI via Fox Sports Go, and that the network, as a first-time bonus, will work with more than 170 Fox affiliates to deliver local ads via the online video feed of the big game.

Fox said it will stream the game for free at FOXSportsGo.com as well as apps for iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon tablets, and via a variety of TV-connected devices, including Apple TV boxes, Roku players and Roku TVs, Android TV-powered devices, the Google Chromecast streaming adapter, Amazon Fire TV players, and the Xbox One console. Verizon has the NFL streaming rights on smartphones. 

Because it’s a non-authenticated stream, Fox’s online feed of the Super Bowl broadcast won’t require viewers to enter their pay TV credentials to view it.

Fox noted that more than 170 Fox affiliates have already committed to work with Fox Sports to program local digital ads for Super Bowl LI. Those participating affiliates will have access to same ad inventory for both the linear and digital broadcasts of the February 5 game, they said.

CBS’s live stream of Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers drew 3.96 million unique viewers across laptops, desktops, tablets, connected TV devices and mobile phones. That compared to the CBS Super Bowl telecast, which averaged 111.9 million viewers.

“As part of the buildup to this year’s Super Bowl, we’re committed to creating the best possible experience for fans by dramatically expanding the ways and places in which they can watch the game,” Eric Shanks, Fox Sports president, COO and executive producer, said in a statement. “Our pioneering collaboration with our affiliates to allow streaming local ad insertions will make commercials even more relevant for viewers and help make this year’s game even more of a personal experience for every fan,”

“We’re excited that this year’s Super Bowl will showcase the unique relationship of FOX and its local affiliates which allows us to collaborate on innovations such as this,” added Brian Jones, EVP and COO of Nexstar Broadcasting Group and chairman of the Fox affiliates board of governors. An incredible 170 affiliates from all around the U.S., including 22 stations that Nexstar owns or provides services to, opted to participate in this first-of-its-kind digital ad insertion for the Super Bowl, allowing us to promote our local affiliate brands and reach viewers on a national scale.” 

Hoping to give viewers a unique perspective from football’s grandest stage, Fox Sports said it will use technology from Intel for a “Be the Player” replay enhancement that will offer a player’s eye view of the action from Super Bowl LI.

The enhancement, coming way of the Fox Sports Lab initiative and using the Intel 360 Replay technology, will provide the POV perspective without requiring a physical camera to be attached to the player, they said. Intel’s platform uses a system of HD cameras positioned around a sporting venue along with servers to capture and create a 3D rendering – from multiple angles--  of the on-field action. 

RELATED: Intel Acquires Replay Technologies

“We tasked Intel to push their amazing Intel 360 Replay technology to the limit of what it could do, using their array of cameras circling the stadium to synthesize a player’s view on the field,” said Michael Davies, FOX Sports SVP of Field & Technical Operations.

“The cameras, backed up by a huge bank of Intel computing power, allow a moment to be recreated in 3D space, so that a ‘virtual camera’ can be placed at the player’s eye line -- not unlike how limitless camera views can be created in video games,” Michael Davies, Fox Sports’s SVP of field and technical operations, said in a statement.  “This broadcast enhancement is like no other -- it literally brings the audience down to the viewpoint of the player at the critical decision-making moment. What other choices did he have? Was his sight blocked? It all looks much different from field level, and can assist our announcers in describing what actually happened on the field.”

This video from the Foster Farms Bowl game between Indiana and Utah illustrates the POV feature that will be employed for Super Bowl LI. 

Fox Sports said its production for Super Bowl LI, set for Feb. 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston, will utilize three production trucks and more than 30 cameras (including the use of Super Motion and 4K cameras) to deliver more than 20 hours of programming a day from “Discovery Green” in the city, and 70-plus cameras to cover the game itself.