In a rarity, the Super Bowl TV rotation has been disrupted.
CBS and NBC have agreed to swap their next Super Bowl dates, the New York Post and Variety reported Wednesday. CBS will now air the 2021 game and NBC the 2022 game.
CBS will become the first network to air two Super Bowl games in three years since FOX aired the game in 1997 and 1999. The four year gap between Super Bowls on NBC will be the longest for any NFL rightsholder since ABC went five years between games from 1995 to 2000.
It should be noted that the 2022 Super Bowl is scheduled to take place during the Winter Olympics. Moving the game to Olympic broadcaster NBC eliminates the possibility of it facing unprecedented competition from another marquee sporting event.
The scheduling change means that NBC will get the first Super Bowl at the new NFL stadium in Los Angeles. NBC was originally scheduled to air the L.A. Super Bowl in 2021, but the NFL pushed the city’s hosting date back to 2022 due to delays building the stadium.
The next Super Bowl will air on FOX as scheduled.
CBS and NBC previously swapped Super Bowl dates in the 1990s, for much the same reason as now. CBS took on the Super Bowl in 1992, the year it had rights to the Winter Olympics, while NBC moved back to 1993. The move resulted in NBC airing the Super Bowl in back-to-back years, as the network already had rights to the 1994 game.
