NBC has once again chosen not to use the big Super Bowl leadout to promote new, returning, or existing entertainment programming. Instead, it will quickly return to covering the Winter Olympics instead, as the network did in 2022.
On Sunday, Feb. 8, after Vince Lombardi’s trophy is hoisted at the end of Super Bowl LX, NBC Sports will continue its Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics primetime show, “Primetime in Milan,” beginning at approximately 10:45 p.m. ET. This includes women’s downhill (which also includes Lindsey Vonn, who is aiming for gold as part of her comeback) and team figure skating.
When NBC decided to broadcast the Winter Olympics after the 2022 Super Bowl, it disrupted the network’s long-standing tradition of using the time slot after the big game to beef up its entertainment programming. For example, in 2018, NBC used the leadout to air the groundbreaking “Super Bowl Sunday” episode of the hit drama “This Is Us,” featuring the infamous and deadly crockpot. (Sorry, Slow Cooker. “Crock-Pot” is trademarked.) The episode averaged a whopping 27 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode of the show. Then, in 2015 after the game, NBC aired the first half of the “Blacklist” two-part series, which drew 25.7 million viewers.
And, like 2022, this year’s Super Bowl will be held in the midst of the Winter Olympics (held from February 6th to February 22nd). Insiders say NBC briefly considered airing an entertainment show after the Super Bowl, at least this year. Options might have included a comedy like “St. Denis Medical” or a drama in the world of Dick Wolf. However, it was ultimately decided that nonstop sports would continue on February 8, given NBCU’s significant financial investment in the Olympics.
The premium advertisers pay for Olympic lead-outs is clearly a factor. However, from the perspective of viewer ratings, broadcasting outside of the sports framework is not a bad strategy. In 2022, the post-Super Bowl Beijing Winter Olympics coverage brought in 24 million viewers.
Jenny Storms, NBCUniversal’s chief marketing officer for entertainment and sports, said she believes the industry has “moved on from the old days of taking one broadcast opportunity and then channeling it to another.”
No shows will premiere after the Super Bowl, but NBCU has a priority to start a series on that day: Peacock’s “The ‘Burbs.” That’s because KeKi Palmer’s new film will premiere on February 8, the same day as the game, and Peacock is hoping to lure viewers who have enjoyed the sport to the show.
“With the Olympics in the morning and then the Super Bowl at Peacock, we’re taking advantage of that big crowd all day long,” Storms said. “And then once the event is over and we’re done with the Super Bowl or the Olympics, we’ll be able to use promotions throughout the day to really push people so they can get their next watch.”
Storms said NBCU will use the Feb. 8 Super Bowl and Winter Olympics double shot to promote the upcoming “Ted” Season 2 (which begins airing March 5), as well as NBC classics such as the “Chicago” series and the “Law & Order” series, the sitcom series “The Voice: Battle of Champions” (which begins airing Feb. 23), upcoming Bravo productions and Peacock’s “House of Villains,” Storms said. Season 3.
Spots, logos and interstitials referencing NBC100, the company’s year-long effort to celebrate its 100th anniversary, will also appear during the Super Bowl and Winter Games.
Still, there’s no better showcase to boost a series than broadcasting it behind the big game. (The Super Bowl “This Is Us” episode, for example, remains an iconic touchpoint for the series.) Until NBC moves to 2022, the last time the network aired another sporting event following the Super Bowl was in 1976, when CBS aired the Phoenix Open golf tournament after Super Bowl X. The Super Bowl readout then became a place for networks to try (with varying degrees of success) to launch new series. Then the network began organizing special episodes of fan favorites like “Friends” instead.
Last year, FOX aired the season 3 premiere of Rob Lowe’s gamer “The Floor” (13.94 million average) after Super Bowl LIX. In 2024, CBS aired “Tracker” (18.44 million episodes) after Super Bowl II. And in 2023, Fox held a cooking competition, “Next Level Chef” (15.66 million viewers), after Super Bowl LVII.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the tradition of a leadout after a Super Bowl series continues. Bell Media announced last week that its new crime drama “The Borderline” will launch on broadcaster CTV and its sibling streamer Crave after Super Bowl LX.
NBC isn’t completely deviating from its strategy of scheduling programming for sampling behind major sports broadcasts. Last Sunday, NBC premiered Tracy Morgan’s new comedy, “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” set in the world of football behind the scenes of an NFL playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears (the Rams won in overtime, giving “Reggie Dinkins” an incredible first run). Variety also reported that NBC will air a special episode of its new comedy “Stumble” on February 20th at 10:30am. ET immediately after that night’s Winter Olympics coverage (the network also just announced that it will air a special edition of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” after the opening ceremony on Feb. 6).
“That’s a tactic,” Storms said of broadcasting shows behind major events. “In today’s environment, we see this as one lever. We’ve had a huge peak in viewership to our platform for almost three weeks in February. And we want to make sure that it’s not just a readout, but also a consumer making a choice the way they want.”
Along with that, NBC is leaning into its “Legendary February” tagline to promote the fact that it will broadcast the Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, and NBA All-Star Game all in the same month.
Of course, the pinnacle of this month is February 8th. Adding to the pomp and circumstance, NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico will be called up for Super Bowl LX from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., taking on his first Super Bowl play-by-play duties. And shortly thereafter, Tirico will host “Primetime in Milan” from the field of Levi’s Stadium. According to NBC Sports, this makes Tirico the first U.S. broadcaster to host the Super Bowl and the Winter Games in the same year.
NBC may have effectively done away with its practice of airing the series as a Super Bowl leadout. That’s because under the NFL’s new Super Bowl rotation (a deal signed in 2021), NBC/Peacock now has the rights to broadcast the Super Bowl in the same cycle as the Winter Olympics every four years. That means the NBCU network and its streamers will continue to broadcast both major sporting events simultaneously until at least 2033.
“This is one of the things that Comcast and NBCUniversal as a whole are participating in and working on,” Storms said. “That’s the beauty of the Olympics, and the Super Bowl and NBA All-Star are just a month away. Every division of the company is on board with this. There’s just a palpable excitement across the organization about what’s coming and such a great opportunity. Not only for our ‘Legendary February’ sports properties, but more importantly for all of our entertainment, Pay1 Movies, Parks and Comcast. This is a huge departure.”
