NBC cites 'equipment failure' for blank screen during Super Bowl commercial break

Tom Schad | USA TODAY

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Super Bowl viewers were greeted by a blank screen for approximately 15 to 30 seconds during NBC's Super Bowl broadcast on Sunday night.

The awkward lull came during a commercial break in the middle of the second quarter and caused a stir on social media, with some on Twitter jokingly referring to it as the best commercial of the broadcast.

In a tweet, an NBC Sports spokesperson blamed the incident on a "brief equipment failure that we quickly resolved. No game action or commercial time were missed."

From NBC Sports spokesperson:



"We had a brief equipment failure that we quickly resolved. No game action or commercial time were missed." — NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) February 5, 2018

NBC told USA TODAY Sports on Friday that the network had sold out its advertising slots during the Super Bowl.

A single 30-second advertisement costs more than $5 million, on average.

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Contributing: A.J. Perez

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

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