Super Bowl Half Time Show: How It Is Produced and What It Costs

The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is one of the most complex live productions in entertainment history. A 14-minute performance requires months of planning, hundreds of crew members, millions of dollars in equipment, and is executed in a 10-minute window during the game's intermission. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how the halftime show comes together.

The Production Timeline

Super Bowl halftime show production begins 6–12 months before the game. Once the performer is selected and confirmed (typically 3–4 months before the game), the creative team begins intensive planning. Weeks 12–4 before the game involve concept development, stage design, rehearsals, and logistics coordination. Weeks 4–1 involve increasingly specific technical rehearsals and final creative decisions.

Super Bowl Week Rehearsals

During Super Bowl week, the halftime show production team conducts extensive on-site rehearsals. Multiple full rehearsals occur in the stadium in the days before the game, with the field being cleared and the stage partially erected to allow the team to practice the setup and breakdown sequence.

The Setup and Teardown

The most impressive aspect of the halftime show is the logistics: the stage must be fully assembled and the performance must begin within 7–8 minutes of the end of the first half, and completely cleared so play can resume after 14 minutes. This requires military-precision coordination among hundreds of stagehands.

Cost of the Halftime Show

Modern Super Bowl halftime shows cost $10–20 million to produce. Apple Music sponsors the show and covers the production costs. Artists are not paid a performance fee — they participate for the exposure and cultural significance. Prior to Apple Music, Pepsi sponsored the halftime show for 10 years, and before that the show was unsponsored. For full history, see our Super Bowl halftime show hub and our best halftime shows rankings.