List of Super Bowl lead - out programs The Super Bowl is the National Football League ' s championship game , and typically the highest - rated single U . S . television broadcast of any given year . In turn , the program aired immediately following coverage of the game in the U . S . is typically also one of the year ' s most watched television program s . Overview . The Super Bowl provides an extremely strong lead - in to the programming on the channel preceding it , the effects of which can last for several hours . For instance , in discussing the ratings of a local TV station , Buffalo television critic Alan Pergament noted on the coattails from Super Bowl XLVII , which aired on CBS : " A paid program that ran on Channel 4 at 2 : 30 in the morning had a 1 . 3 rating . That ’ s higher than some CW prime time shows get on WNLO - TV , Channel 4 ’ s sister station . " The Super Bowl lead - out is typically aired across most U . S . markets simultaneously , and is usually one hour in length , although before the game adopted its standard kickoff time of just after 6 : 00 p . m . ET in the early 1990s , it was not uncommon for longer programs to be broadcast . When the game moved into a later time slot in 1983 , the game and its associated post - game programming would be scheduled until 10 : 00 p . m . Eastern Time / 7 : 00 p . m . Pacific Time , allowing for only one hour of network programming until the late local news . These programs are almost inevitably delayed , due to the extended length of the pre - game , halftime , and post - game festivities . It is common for affiliates in the home markets of the competing teams to delay the lead - out show further , until after additional local post - game coverage . In 1979 , and largely from the mid - 1980s through the mid - 1990s , this slot was used to showcase a new series or movie , such as " The A - Team " or " The Wonder Years " , or broadcast a special episode of an " up - and - coming " series . However , many of the series were ultimately unsuccessful , with some being canceled within a matter of weeks . Since then , virtually all of the programs in the post - game timeslot have been special episodes of series that had already aired for at least one season . Despite the fact that Fox almost never programs time slots after 10 : 00 p . m . except on Saturdays ( instead encouraging its affiliates to air local news in the slot ) , Fox has aired lead - out programming after the Super Bowl ever since it began airing them in 1997 , which normally preempts local newscasts . The Fox affiliates in the market of the winning team do not necessarily have to do this ( an example is Fox flagship WNYW , which aired a post - Super Bowl news broadcast following Super Bowl XLII and delayed the start of the " House " episode that was Fox ' s lead out program until the newscast ' s conclusion ) . Currently , a regular - length episode of a drama series will usually air , although in some cases a one - hour episode of a sitcom ( normally 30 minutes in length ) , or two episodes of different sitcoms paired together , may air instead . Quite often the selected series is one of the " prestige " shows for the network showing the game that year , or a moderate hit ( e . g . " The X - Files " on Fox , " Criminal Minds " on CBS , and " Grey ' s Anatomy " on ABC ) , which the network wants to give a higher profile . " The Simpsons " has aired in the slot twice , with both airings being paired with the premieres of animated sitcoms ( " Family Guy " in 1999 and " American Dad ! " in 2005 ) . An occasional practice used to maximize the effect of the lead - out , is to make the Super Bowl episode a cliffhanger , with a story that concludes later in the week in the program ' s regularly scheduled timeslot . The most common lead out program is the news magazine 60 Minutes which has aired after 4 Super Bowls ( VI , XIV , XVI , XXVI . Two other series have followed the big game three times Lassie ( I , II , IV ) and The Wonderful World of Disney ( I , VII , XI ) . Two more series have appeared in the time slot twice , The Simpsons ( XXXIII , XXXIX ) and Survivor ( XXXV , XXXVIII ) The most recent Super Bowl lead - out program to have also been a series premiere is " Undercover Boss " , which was launched following Super Bowl XLIV on CBS . Three other series have had their season premieres following the Super Bowl : two editions of " Survivor " , the and series ( which followed Super Bowls XXXV and XXXVIII ) , which aired on CBS , and " The Voice " , which launched its second season following Super Bowl XLVI on NBC . TV ratings . The following is a list of shows that have aired after the Super Bowl in the United States :