KATY PERRY LANDS SUPER BOWL SLOT

Katy Perry has been selected as the star of the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl, and presumably she won’t have to pay anything for the honor. That possibility arose in August when the Wall Street Journal reported that the NFL was seeking to have the headliner for the halftime show offset production costs by forking over a percentage of the additional income their Super Bowl appearance might generate or by making "some other type of financial contribution." The reaction among performers was loud and indignant. Perry, who reportedly was being considered along with Coldplay and Rihanna, remarked last Saturday during ESPN’s College Game Day, "I’m not the kind of girl who would pay to play the Super Bowl." Although the halftime stars themselves generally do not receive payment, the costs of the production are high and include travel and lodging for the acts and their supporting staff, rehearsals at the Super Bowl site — in this case the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona — construction of sets, lighting, etc. And while the superstars who play the Super Bowl can often boost their annual income by tens of millions of dollars following their 12-minute live video promo on the field, the NFL is well aware that not having a big-name act fill in that gap can result in millions of viewers checking out what the other networks are offering instead. Indeed, numerous studies have indicated that millions of viewers are more interested in the halftime show and the commercials than they are in the game. Last year’s halftime show featuring Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers attracted 115.3 million viewers while the game itself averaged 112 million.