Super Bowl counterprogramming

Although it is consistently one of the most watched television programs in the United States annually,^[1] broadcasters have sometimes attempted to intentionally counterprogram against the Super Bowl 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, successfully drawing 22 million viewers, and prompting the NFL to book more prominent pop music acts to compete.

Broadcasters who do not air original programming against the Super Bowl will typically air reruns of existing programming—sometimes as marathons, prior to and during the game; in recent years, as they all broadcast NFL games or have ties to an outlet who does—and three of them alternate airing the game yearly—the United States' four major television networks have rarely broadcast new programming against the Super Bowl in an effort to protect the game's viewership as a sign of respect.

History

The practice was popularized by Fox: in the 1970s and 1980s, the majority of Super Bowl halftime shows were themed, musical spectacles that often featured marching bands and performance ensembles such as Up with People (who performed in four Super Bowl halftime shows between 1976 and 1986 and performed at the pre-game show of Super Bowl XXV in 1991). The group's halftime shows were described as being "wholesome" and "inoffensive" by critics, but were frequently lambasted for being dated and out of touch with modern popular culture—Up With People's shows have been considered among the worst in Super Bowl history.^[2]

As an alternative, the then-fledging (but future NFL broadcaster) Fox aired a special live episode of its popular sketch comedy show In Living Color during halftime at Super Bowl XXVI (which featured a halftime show entitled "Winter Magic", a Winter Olympics-themed show starring Gloria Estefan). The live episode, which featured football-themed sketches and a clock counting down to the start of the third quarter, drew between 20 million and 25 million viewers; Nielsen estimated that CBS lost 10 ratings points during halftime as a result of the special.^[3]

The unexpected success of the In Living Color special prompted the NFL to take steps to prevent the further loss of viewers at halftime during future games: beginning at Super Bowl XXVII, the league began to invite major pop music performers to perform during the halftime show. The first of these, featuring Michael Jackson, led to a dramatic increase in viewership between halves—the first in the game's history. This practice continued until 2005; after an incident occurred at Super Bowl XXXVIII's halftime show where Justin Timberlake briefly exposed one of Janet Jackson's breasts, a string of subsequent halftime shows featuring a single, headlining classic rock act were held instead.^[4][3] Even still, the league has continued to stay true to its goal of ensuring that the halftime show is as much of a spectacle as the game itself.^[2]

As all four major U.S. television networks have ties to the NFL (CBS, Fox, and NBC alternate airing the Super Bowl yearly and air regular season games, while ABC's parent company owns ESPN, who also broadcasts NFL games), Phil Rosenthal of the Chicago Tribune believed that there was now "zero likelihood some broadcast network is going to launch a broadside against the NFL's showcase." As such, the networks not airing the game will typically air reruns.^[3] Fox provided an exception in 2010, when it aired new episodes of 'Til Death during the game—however, this move was part of Fox's efforts to quietly burn off the series in unconventional time slots (such as having aired a marathon of four new episodes on Christmas Day), to compile enough episodes for syndication.^[5][6]

Counterprogramming efforts are not limited to television; for Super Bowl XLV in 2011, WCHK-FM, a station in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area announced it would counterprogram the game with dead air, since the hometown Packers were in the game. However, its goal was not to attract listeners from the game, but to do the opposite.^[7] The freeform program Anything Anything with Rich Russo has counterprogrammed the Super Bowl with Dr. Demento.^[8] Counterprogramming expanded to the internet in 2015, when YouTube announced that it would broadcast an alternative, online halftime show featuring notable personalities from the video sharing service.^[9]

List of notable Super Bowl halftime counterprograms

In regards to original programming, recurring Super Bowl counters have included Animal Planet's annual Puppy Bowl, a special featuring dogs at play in a model football stadium (which itself spawned imitators in the form of the Kitten Bowl and Fish Bowl in 2014), and the Lingerie Bowl, a series of pay-per-view broadcasts of all-female football games played in lingerie—proving popular enough to be spun off into its own Lingerie Football League. The LFL has since re-launched as a more conventional women's football league, the Legends Football League, and moved its season to run during the NFL off-season instead.^[10]

On the day of the Super Bowl, cable channels often air special marathons of existing programming prior to and/or during the game: in 2009, AMC aired the first three Death Wish films, DIY Network broadcast a marathon of bathroom-related programming known as the "Toilet Bowl", and ESPN aired a marathon of the World Series of Poker.^[11]

References