Comcast taking extra steps to ensure Super Bowl broadcast goes off without a hitch

With 9 out of 10 Americans and virtually everyone in Washington state watching Sunday, Comcast says it’s taking extra steps to make sure the Super Bowl broadcast goes off without any service interruptions.

The state’s largest cable provider is bringing in extra crews throughout the weekend, upping staffing by 30 percent to make sure they can respond to any problems quickly before the big game, says Steve Kipp, Comcast VP of Communications.

The company is also halting all upgrade work on its network throughout the weekend to avoid any inadvertent impacts on its system, and adding staff to its network operations center in Everett to monitor the entire system and head off potential problems before they interrupt service.

“We’re taking what we do normally and we’re essentially upping the ante,” says Kipp. “We’re adding more crews, more people, more eyes because we know that this game is so important and people don’t want to miss it.”

The company is also keeping a close eye on its Internet service, with customers expected to stream the game on NBC and surf the web throughout Super Bowl Sunday in record numbers.

“We’ll be monitoring the network for data and taking steps to keep it flowing. We’ve been working throughout the year to continually increase the capacity of our network, adding more fiber optics and moving fiber deeper into more neighborhoods,” says Kipp.

Network engineers in Washington state will also remain in constant contact with counterparts across Comcast’s hundreds of thousands of miles of nationwide network to ensure seamless delivery of its video and data services, according to Kipp.