As we approach Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, there are questions about whether Chiefs fatigue is a concern for Fox. However, according to at least two executives at the network, the answer is no. This marks the third consecutive Super Bowl and the fifth in six seasons featuring the Kansas City Chiefs. For Fox, this will be their second straight Super Bowl showcasing the Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, following Kansas City’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Despite the potential risk of overexposure, Fox Sports President of Insights and Analytics Michael Mulvihill remains unconcerned.
“[People] still want to watch the bad guy,” Mulvihill said, per Samuel Jane, Sports Business Journal. “I’m not too worried about the idea of Chiefs fatigue… I think there’s always some interest in seeing something that has never happened before.” Brad Zager, Fox Sports’ president of production, echoed this sentiment: “Nobody’s turning out because the Chiefs are playing, because the Chiefs have something to do that nobody’s ever done before,” he noted. “And that’s what we dream of covering.” Indeed, a win would be historic for the Chiefs, as no team has ever won three consecutive Super Bowls in the nearly six-decade history of the event. The Chiefs are the only team to return to the Super Bowl after securing victories in the previous two.
The data aligns with Mulvihill and Zager’s insights. While viewership has been slightly down during the NFL postseason, there was a notable exception for the AFC Championship Game. Kansas City’s triumph over the Buffalo Bills set AFC Championship Game viewership records, surpassing the previous year’s mark, and it became the most-watched Conference Championship Game in either conference since the Giants and 49ers faced off in January 2012. This victory marks the Chiefs’ seventh consecutive appearance in the AFC Championship Game.
While some football fans may feel fatigued by the repetitive presence of the Chiefs, the absence of concrete evidence to support this notion means that we cannot fault Fox— or any other network— for underplaying the idea of Chiefs fatigue.
