Will the Super Bowl ever lose its dominance as the biggest TV event?

The Atlantic

"The Super Bowl may seem like an invincible juggernaut," says Derek Thompson. "In a world of fragmented content, in which all digitally connected human beings awaken to their own News Feed, Netflix recommendations, or Spotify Discover Weekly playlist, it’s the one piece of media that is all but guaranteed to reach 100 million Americans at the exact same time. Of the 10 most watched broadcasts in U.S. history, nine of them are Super Bowls from the past decade (the other is the 1983 M*A*S*H finale). But the Super Bowl is like a large castle perched at the top of a rapidly eroding island. The game faces two broad threats: a declining audience for televised football, and a new advertising culture that jeopardizes the Super Bowl’s identity...The Super Bowl has thrived for half a century in the fertile fields of traditional television, which are quickly becoming a disaster zone. Americans under 35 watch at least 40 percent less traditional TV (that is, on the cable bundle) than they did in 2010. Ratings are drowning for everything on television, from broadcast to cable and from news to scripted programming. Although the big game might be dog-paddling to stay above water, it is still vulnerable: The Nielsen rating for the Super Bowl has declined every year since 2015."

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