Counterprogramming
Encyclopedia
In Broadcast programming, counterprogramming is the practice of offering television program
s to attract an audience
from another television station
airing a major event.
and the Oscars.
television. Thus, counterprogramming focuses on the pre-game period and the halftime show. However, it is a common gentlemen's agreement
that the broadcast networks who carry the league's game coverage
(and in turn, other cable networks owned by the broadcasters) never counterprogram the Super Bowl, yielding to the game and airing either low profile reruns of their series or a middling film in the timeslot instead. As all four of the five major broadcast networks (ABC
is the exception; although its parent Disney owns 80% of ESPN
, they are free to counterprogram, and have done so) now have some connection to NFL coverage, this has meant since 2007, that the major networks not airing the game de facto shut down, do not counterprogram, and cede to the network that year carrying the game, which in turn has given many of the post-2007 Super Bowls among the highest viewing audiences in American ratings history.
NBC
counterprogrammed the Super Bowl XXXVIII
and Super Bowl XXXIX
pregame shows with the World Poker Tour
Tournament of Champions.
In 1992, FOX
counterprogrammed the Super Bowl XXVI
halftime show
with a special episode of In Living Color
. This episode, which, through the "Men On Football" skit, adlibed that actor Richard Gere
and track and field
star Carl Lewis
were gay. This was a fairly successful counterprogram; an estimated 20-25 million switched from CBS'
Super Bowl broadcast.
In 1999, World Wrestling Entertainment
(then known as the World Wrestling Federation) counterprogrammed the Super Bowl halftime show with Halftime Heat '99 on the USA Network
, featuring a match in which Mankind
fought The Rock in the first ever Empty Arena Match, recorded in Tucson, Arizona
. This match was also successful, with over 20 million viewers switching to this event. Since 2006, the WWE has not been permitted to counterprogram on the USA Network because USA is under common ownership with NBC, which acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football that year, and counterprogramming against the NFL could jeopardize the contract.
Animal Planet
has counterprogrammed the Super Bowl with their Puppy Bowl
since 2005.
ABC has counterprogramed the Super Bowl with Wipeout in recent years.
has decided to make a gamble in 2009 counterprogramming against the Academy Awards; traditionally, the Academy Awards are known for being the largest advertising block for women, with it being the second-highest advertising rates for any program, ranking higher than all but the Super Bowl.
Fox, NASCAR, and the Auto Club Speedway chose in 2009 to have the Auto Club 500
counterprogrammed against the Oscars; the start time of the race, traditionally a Noon or 1 PM green flag local time, was moved to 3 PM local time (6 PM ET), with the race going into prime time. The practice was discontinued when NASCAR adopted a uniform start time for West Coast day races of 12 Noon PT in 2010.
Univision
aired the final two episodes of the Mexican telenovela
En Nombre del Amor
opposite the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony.
NBC
has occasionally counterprogrammed against the Academy Awards with Shrek
, especially in years in which it has aired the Super Bowl since the NFL returned to the network during the 2006-07 TV season.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
s to attract an audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
from another television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
airing a major event.
Television
The main events counterprogrammed in the United States are the Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
and the Oscars.
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is amongst the most-viewed programs on AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television. Thus, counterprogramming focuses on the pre-game period and the halftime show. However, it is a common gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's agreement
A gentlemen's agreement is an informal agreement between two or more parties. It may be written, oral, or simply understood as part of an unspoken agreement by convention or through mutually beneficial etiquette. The essence of a gentlemen's agreement is that it relies upon the honor of the parties...
that the broadcast networks who carry the league's game coverage
NFL on television
The television rights to broadcast National Football League games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any American sport. It was television that brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II...
(and in turn, other cable networks owned by the broadcasters) never counterprogram the Super Bowl, yielding to the game and airing either low profile reruns of their series or a middling film in the timeslot instead. As all four of the five major broadcast networks (ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
is the exception; although its parent Disney owns 80% of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, they are free to counterprogram, and have done so) now have some connection to NFL coverage, this has meant since 2007, that the major networks not airing the game de facto shut down, do not counterprogram, and cede to the network that year carrying the game, which in turn has given many of the post-2007 Super Bowls among the highest viewing audiences in American ratings history.
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
counterprogrammed the Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
and Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
pregame shows with the World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
Tournament of Champions.
In 1992, FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
counterprogrammed the Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI
Super Bowl XXVI was an American football game played on January 26, 1992 at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota to decide the National Football League champion following the 1991 regular season...
halftime show
Halftime show
A halftime show is a performance given during halftime, the period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions , or for sports that do not have an extended...
with a special episode of In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
. This episode, which, through the "Men On Football" skit, adlibed that actor Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
star Carl Lewis
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis is an American former track and field athlete, who won 10 Olympic medals including 9 gold, and 10 World Championships medals, of which 8 were gold. His career spanned from 1979 when he first achieved a world ranking to 1996 when he last won an Olympic title and...
were gay. This was a fairly successful counterprogram; an estimated 20-25 million switched from CBS'
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Super Bowl broadcast.
In 1999, World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(then known as the World Wrestling Federation) counterprogrammed the Super Bowl halftime show with Halftime Heat '99 on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, featuring a match in which Mankind
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
fought The Rock in the first ever Empty Arena Match, recorded in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
. This match was also successful, with over 20 million viewers switching to this event. Since 2006, the WWE has not been permitted to counterprogram on the USA Network because USA is under common ownership with NBC, which acquired the rights to Sunday Night Football that year, and counterprogramming against the NFL could jeopardize the contract.
Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
has counterprogrammed the Super Bowl with their Puppy Bowl
Puppy Bowl
The Puppy Bowl is an annual television program on Animal Planet that mimics an American football bowl game similar to the Super Bowl, using puppies. Shown the same afternoon of the Super Bowl, the show consists of footage of a batch of puppies at play inside a model stadium, with commentary on...
since 2005.
ABC has counterprogramed the Super Bowl with Wipeout in recent years.
Academy Awards
FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
has decided to make a gamble in 2009 counterprogramming against the Academy Awards; traditionally, the Academy Awards are known for being the largest advertising block for women, with it being the second-highest advertising rates for any program, ranking higher than all but the Super Bowl.
Fox, NASCAR, and the Auto Club Speedway chose in 2009 to have the Auto Club 500
2009 Auto Club 500
The 2009 Auto Club 500 was the second race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. the race occurred on February 22, 2009, at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, from Los Angeles and was one of the cleanest races in the history of the track with only one caution for an on track incident...
counterprogrammed against the Oscars; the start time of the race, traditionally a Noon or 1 PM green flag local time, was moved to 3 PM local time (6 PM ET), with the race going into prime time. The practice was discontinued when NASCAR adopted a uniform start time for West Coast day races of 12 Noon PT in 2010.
Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
aired the final two episodes of the Mexican telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
En Nombre del Amor
En Nombre del Amor
En Nombre Del Amor is a Mexican telenovela that aired in late 2008 through mid 2009. It is a remake of Cadenas de Amargura . En Nombre Del Amor was produced by Carlos Moreno, and filming began on August 4, 2008...
opposite the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony.
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
has occasionally counterprogrammed against the Academy Awards with Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
, especially in years in which it has aired the Super Bowl since the NFL returned to the network during the 2006-07 TV season.