FOX is going for the reality game show route in the coveted post-Super Bowl slot.
It’s time for our annual off-topic discussion of who will watch the Super Bowl’s lead-out program. FOX has the broadcast rights to Super Bowl 59, and the last time they had an opportunity to air something, they chose to air episodes of Next Level Chef in 2023, which got 15.66 million viewers.
This year, FOX is airing the season 3 premiere of The Floor, a game show hosted by Rob Lowe. The show synopsis reads as follows: “Contestants with expertise in a variety of trivia subjects challenge each other in head-to-head duels, with the winner of each duel taking over all territory controlled by the loser.”
This is the third Super Bowl in a row that FOX has opted to show a reality or game show. Sadly, gone are the days of airing fun dramas like 24 or something else that can launch a franchise. Viewership of lead-out programs have declined in general too with the increase of streaming services. Here is a look at how reality shows have done since 2000:
- 2001: Survivor (CBS, 45.37 million)
- 2004: Survivor (CBS, 33.54 million)
- 2010: Undercover Boss (CBS, 38.65 million)
- 2012: The Voice (NBC, 37.61 million)
- 2019: The World’s Best (CBS, 22.21 million)
- 2020: The Masked Singer (FOX, 27.33 million)
- 2023: Next Level Chef (FOX, 15.66 million)
Fourteen years ago, only 18% of you said you’d tune in to watch Glee after the Super Bowl. Thirteen years ago, only 12% of you said you’d tune in to watch The Voice. Twelve years ago, 63% of you said you’d tune in to watch Elementary. Eleven years ago, only 27% of you said you’d tune in to watch New Girl. Ten years ago, 50% of you said you’d tune in to watch The Blacklist. Nine years ago, a surging 63% of you said you’d tune in to watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Eight years ago, only 28% of you said you’d watch 24: Legacy. Seven years ago, only 29% of you said you’d watch This is Us. Six years ago, only 14% of you said you’d watch The World’s Best. Five years ago, only 24% of you said you’d watch The Masked Singer, which ended up drawing the biggest post-Super Bowl audience since 2012. Four years ago, only 12% of you said you’d watch The Equalizer. Three years ago, we didn’t run a poll because NBC just segued into the 2022 Winter Olympics. Two years ago, only 24% of you said you’d watch Next Level Chef. Last year, only 21% of you said you’d watch Tracker.
What about this year? Vote in the poll below and let us know in the comments section.