As we look forward to Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, is Chiefs fatigue a concern for Fox? According to at least two executives at the network, no.
This will be the third consecutive Super Bowl — and the fifth in six seasons — to feature the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be Fox’s second consecutive Super Bowl to feature the Chiefs taking on the Philadelphia Eagles (Fox also covered Kansas City’s win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV). And while overexposure can be a risk Fox Sports President of Insights and Analytics Michael Mulvihill isn’t worried about that with the Chiefs.
“[People] still want to watch the bad guy,” Mulvihill said, per Samuel Jane, Sports Business Journal. “I’m not too worried about the idea of Chiefs fatigue… I think there’s always some interest in seeing something that has never happened before.”
Brad Zager, Fox Sports’ president of production, echoed that sentiment.
“Nobody’s turning out because the Chiefs are playing, because the Chiefs have something to do that nobody’s ever done before,” he said, per Jane. “And that’s what we dream of covering.”
Indeed, a win would be historic for the Chiefs. In the game’s near six-decade history, no team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls. The Chiefs are the only team to even return to the Super Bowl after winning the previous two.
The numbers largely back up Mulvihill and Zager’s feelings.
While viewership numbers have been slightly down throughout the NFL postseason, that was not the case for the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City’s win over the Buffalo Bills set AFC Championship Game viewership records, breaking the mark set a year ago. It was also the most watched Conference Championship Game in either the AFC or NFC since the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers squared off in the NFC Championship Game in January 2012. The win over the Bills was the seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance for the Chiefs.
It’s not far-fetched to think that football fans are tired of seeing the Chiefs. But until the numbers suggest otherwise, we can’t blame Fox — or any other network — for downplaying the concern of Chiefs fatigue.
