Black History Month Fact: Super Bowl Edition

Back in 1992, during Super Bowl XXVI, Fox aired a special live episode of In Living Color directly opposite the NFL’s official halftime show. That halftime performance on CBS was a fairly traditional themed show with figure skaters and musical numbers, which many viewers found unimpressive. The In Living Color broadcast drew over 20 million viewers away from the game’s halftime because it featured high-energy comedy, music, and popular cast members a striking contrast to what the NFL was offering.

Because of that sharp loss in halftime viewers, the NFL realized it needed to make its halftime entertainment more compelling to keep people from switching channels. Starting the very next year at Super Bowl XXVII in 1993 the league invited major pop stars like Michael Jackson to perform, shifting the halftime show toward the big-name, high-production music spectacle that’s now the norm.