Although the Super Bowl is consistently one of the most watched television programs in the United States annually,[1] broadcasters have sometimes attempted to intentionally counterprogram against it by running new programming against the game as an alternative, such as special episodes of existing series, one-off special presentations, and previews of new series, typically during its halftime break.
The most prominent success of the concept came in 1992, when Fox broadcast a special, live edition of its sketch comedy program In Living Color during halftime at Super Bowl XXVI, taking advantage of the then-unpopular format of Super Bowl halftime shows. The special drew 22 million viewers, prompting the NFL to book more prominent pop music acts to perform at future Super Bowl halftime shows to compete.
Most broadcasters would typically air reruns of existing programming or sometimes as marathons, prior to and during the game; in recent years, as all four major networks broadcast NFL games to an extent (all of them alternate airing the game yearly) the networks not airing the Super Bowl rarely broadcast new programming against it in an effort to protect the game's viewership as a sign of respect, to the point that the broadcast rights to Super Bowl LV and LVI were swapped to prevent a CBS-broadcast Super Bowl LVI from competing with the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC. Some cable channels and digital platforms still attempt to air original programming intended as an alternative to halftime or the game itself (such as Animal Planet's annual Puppy Bowl special).
- ^ "Super Bowl 2nd-most watched show ever". MSNBC.com. Associated Press. February 7, 2006. Archived from the original on February 8, 2006. Retrieved January 15, 2007.