Two networks are swapping Super Bowl years — here’s why

By MixDex Article may include affiliate links

CBS and NBC are swapping Super Bowls in a deal that benefits both networks, reports The New York Post.

• The Super Bowl, one of the most watched and lucrative television events of the year, rotates among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in a deal that ends in 2023.
• NBC was slated to cover the 2021 Super Bowl with CBS following in 2022.
• However, the two networks have agreed to trade spots.
• The main reason? NBC wants to pair 2022 Super Bowl coverage with the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing that will take place around the same time.
• The swap also benefits CBS since the game, slated for Feb. 6, 2022, would fall near the beginning of NBC’s coverage of the Olympics.
• According to the Post, no money is changing hands as part of the deal since the switch has benefits to both networks.
• Instead, the big game coverage will be presumably sandwiched between Olympics coverage on NBC.
• With the Super Bowl broadcast rights up for bid in 2023, speculation has began that new bidders may enter the arena — including Turner Sports, who recently restructured its management team and put former NBC exec Jeff Zucker in charge.