The lack of a dynastic participant and anticipation for Bad Bunny’s halftime show are viewership sticking points for Super Bowl LX, experts told UPI.
6 The lack of a dynastic participant and anticipation for Bad Bunny’s halftime show are among viewership sticking points for Super Bowl LX, experts told UPI.
NBC declined to project viewership for Super Bowl LX, which will kick off Sunday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Last year’s game averaged 127.7 million viewer on Fox.
That game featured the latest dynasty, with Patrick Mahomes leading the Kansas City Chiefs, who lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Super Bowls featured Mahomes and/or Tom Brady or Peyton Manning in 17 of the last 22 years. Brady and Mahomes combined for 10 Lombardi Trophies during that stretch. Their participation, paired with eagerness for fans to watch teams attempt to dethrone those dynasties, helped drive ratings.
It also was something networks craved.
„There is a little bit of knocking off Goliath“, NBC Sports president Rick Cordella told UPI. „Even in college basketball, with the blue bloods, those games are still the best rated. They accumulate fans over time, too.
„People became Kansas City Chiefs fans. The Dallas Cowboys were famously great in the 70s and acquired a bunch of fans they have yet to shed. The Packers and Steelers dynasties and people looking across at these athletes doing phenomenal things over a long period time is probably good for business.“
It remains to be seen if the new version of the Patriots, led by quarterback Drake Maye, or the Seattle Seahawks, powered by an elite defense, can forge a new dynasty. Narratives for this year’s edition of the big game have included framing the duel as a meeting between two coaches with philosophical differences, Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s turbulent journey to the promised land and potential political messaging from Bad Bunny.
Cordella also pointed to the „Cinderella story“ nature of the Patriots and Seahawks going from low preseason expectations to championship contenders and overall NFL parity.
„I think the NFL has a great product“, Cordella said. „The NFL has found the sweet spot between dynasty and anyone can win. It’s what you see in the ratings and why we had probably the highest rated year ever on Sunday Night Football.
