With Super Bowl LVI just around the corner and lots of buzz around this year's Super Bowl commercials, many non-American viewers might be wondering exactly how they can view them outside the US. The commercial breaks during the Super Bowl are every year's most sought-after advertising slots due to the sheer size of the Super Bowl's audience, with more than 100 million people in the US alone tuning in to watch the event. Slots to air a Super Bowl commercial are costly to obtain, meaning that only the biggest brands can afford the lucrative advertising opportunity.
As well as more traditional commercials, there are several trailers expected to air at Super Bowl LVI, too. Recent years have seen previews for films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and 10 Cloverfield Lane, with a Super Bowl slot almost guaranteed to add an extra buzz of anticipation for the film in question. However, despite it being the most lucrative commercial break in all television, the Super Bowl's commercials and trailers don't air internationally.
In the UK, the Super Bowl airs on the BBC, which doesn't run commercials, and in other countries, local commercials run in place of those that run in the US. This means that international Super Bowl viewers can't experience the most anticipated commercials that air in the US. This leads to non-US viewers needing to resort to other means to catch the biggest new trailers. This potentially includes the first Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer, which may air at Super Bowl LVI.
Exactly how viewers from outside the US can watch the Super Bowl commercials and trailers is a matter of choice. To experience them simultaneously as US viewers, most global audiences would need to use a VPN to watch the Super Bowl live. However, many (if not all) of the Super Bowl trailers will be available to view online within minutes of their airing – some are even available to watch now – so most viewers will likely seek them out in their own time.
However, it's still up for debate on exactly which trailers will air during Super Bowl 2022. Some think the Thor 4 trailer will skip Super Bowl LVI and break an MCU trend. For film and TV fans, the trailers aired during the Super Bowl are often the first look at some of the biggest upcoming releases, so many non-US viewers will potentially tune in to the Super Bowl using a VPN in order to catch these live. For most (if not all) international viewers, this is the only option for watching the commercials and trailers live, so those not content with finding them online after (or even during) the Super Bowl LVI will need to opt for a VPN.
