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Google’s Not Sure What Day Super Bowl 50 Is Happening In 2016

Google sometimes makes it Super Bowl Saturday rather than Super Bowl Sunday.

Danny Sullivan on December 15, 2015 at 5:22 pm

Wondering when the Super Bowl is being held next year? Don’t depend on Google. The search engine can’t seem to make up its mind.

For the record, Super Bowl 50 will be held on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2016. The exact time still seems not to have been set. But if you ask Google, it sometimes gives the right location (Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California) but the wrong date of Saturday, Feb. 6:

As you can see above, Google’s direct answer for “when is the super bowl” shows Super Bowl 50 happening on Feb. 6. Oddly, Google also bolds what it considers to be a match for that search in the description from the official NFL site for the Super Bowl. That bolded answer is the correct date, Feb. 7.

Google’s archrival Bing gets it right:

Occasionally, Google does appear to be getting the date correct. Some of our Search Engine Land editors see the right date, especially those on the East Coast. But others, including me, still get the incorrect one.

No doubt Google will fix this soon. At least it’s an improvement over last year, when search results were giving out the Super Bowl start time for the wrong year.

Don’t worry, should Google still get it wrong, a gazillion publications stand ready as always to cash in on the “what time does the super bowl start” madness.

And I know. Who’s even thinking about the Super Bowl in December, when it’s almost two months away? Well, we are, as part of our planning for our annual Hashtag Bowl. The pitches about Super Bowl ads are already coming in, and we’ll have all the coverage through our Marketing Land sister site.

About The Author

Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, Marketing Land, MarTech Today and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.