Super Bowl Ratings Are ‘Bulletproof,’ Says Fox’s Shanks

By Michael Malone
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

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A good matchup and compelling halftime performers may goose Super Bowl ratings a bit, but the game is virtually assured of massive numbers regardless of who takes the field, said Eric Shanks, Fox Sports president/COO. Shanks spoke along with studio analysts Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw at the TCA press tour in Pasadena Jan. 11. Shanks mentioned how Fox’s last Super Bowl, in 2014, saw the Seahawks blow out the Broncos. “I dreaded waking up the next morning to see what the viewership figures were,” he said. “But the Super Bowl is the Super Bowl. We set a record [at 112 million].”

The Super Bowl has become “a little bit bulletproof,” added Shanks, in terms of ratings.

Shanks spoke about additional stress on Super Sunday with delivering a top-notch telecast. “There’s a lot of pressure with the economic impact for Fox that day,” he said, noting “all the things we need to deliver perfectly for advertisers investing in that day.”

Michael Malone
Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.