It’s Super Bowl weekend. Or as we say around here, the only time of year people pay attention to Roman numerals. It’s safe to predict that “Super Bowl LIV” (6:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox), between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, will be the most-watched television event of the year. This marks the Chiefs’ first return to the big game since Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970. If you think a 50-year dry spell is an eternity, ask a fan of the New York Jets, who haven’t been there since Super Bowl III in 1969.
A half-century wait seems appropriate to this year, the NFL’s centenary. And it’s a demarcation of the 50-year “marriage” between professional football and television. TV’s “Monday Night Football” also debuted in 1970, bringing an afternoon event to prime time, along with a massive audience.
In many ways, the Super Bowl phenomenon itself is a throwback to another century, a predigital era when a large portion of society watched the same event at the same time. The advent of cable and then streaming devices has fractured national audiences in a thousand different ways.
According to Fortune.com, more than 33 million Americans have abandoned cable entirely. They estimate that that number will rise to more than 50 million over the next two years. (In Roman numerals, that’s L million!)
They figure that more than 20% of households will have cut the cord by 2022. That in itself is an enormous audience. So Fox has made it possible for cord-cutters to stream Super Bowl LIV using the Fox Sports app via a streaming device like a Roku or on a digital tablet.
The Fox Sports app will also allow users to stream the post-game debut of the third season of “The Masked Singer” (10:30 p.m. Sunday, Fox, TV-14), a series touted as “wild and crazy,” but that is actually intensely inane.
Much like a streamable Super Bowl, “Singer” speaks to our times. As network television becomes a programming afterthought to many consumers, its schedule has shifted from dramas and comedies to the distracting fare more commonly associated with morning or afternoon TV. From “The Bachelor” to “Ellen’s Game of Games,” ABC’s slate of game shows and CBS’s reality fare, the accent is on the frivolous, harmless and forgettable. At the same time, an increasing number of people are beginning to remember how little they watch. They’re reminded every time they pay the monthly cable bill.
— A tradition in itself, Super Bowl-themed counterprogramming continues. As annual showcases go, 16 years is nothing to sniff at. “Puppy Bowl XVI” (3 p.m. Sunday, Animal Planet, TV-PG) has a matchup between teams Ruff and Fluff. “Bowl” (8 p.m., Animal Planet) returns in prime time for those unconcerned by the main attraction.
In some ways, the “Puppy Bowl” and its feline imitator “The Kitten Bowl” (2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, Hallmark, TV-G) have been around long enough to morph from football fluff to a source of puppy- and kitten-besotted gifs and memes on social media.
SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Ovation airs the 13th season debut of “Murdoch Mysteries” (7 p.m., EST), a genial detective series set in Toronto in the 1890s. The series can also be streamed on Acorn.
— The league reflects on its best players, moments and plays of the 2019 season at the NFL Honors (8 p.m., Fox), live from Miami.
— Hosted by Natalie Morales, “Jennifer Lopez: Behind Closed Doors” (8 p.m., Reelz) profiles the actress and singer who will appear with Shakira at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show.
— The Celtics host the 76ers in NBA action (8:30 p.m., ABC).
— Suspicion grows after a widower’s new lover winds up in the morgue in the 2019 shocker “Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story” (8 p.m., Lifetime, TV-14).
— David Attenborough narrates as “Seven Worlds, One Planet” (9 p.m., BBC America, AMC, Sundance and IFC) surveys the natural diversity of South America.
— A civil rights leader (Taraji P. Henson) and a local leader of the KKK (Sam Rockwell) form an unlikely bond when they are appointed to a board overseeing the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971 in the 2019 drama “The Best of Enemies” (9 p.m., Showtime). Based on a true story.
— Fired from her reality television job, a beauty returns to her bucolic hometown to co-host a holiday auction with her former fiance in the 2019 romance “A Valentine’s Match” (9 p.m., Hallmark, TV-G).
— “Iowa Caucuses: The Final Poll: A CNN Special Event” (9 p.m.) anticipates the kickoff to the presidential nominating process.
— J.J. Watt hosts “Saturday Night Live” (11:30 p.m., NBC, TV-14), featuring musical guest Luke Combs.
SUNDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS
— Scheduled on “60 Minutes” (7 p.m., CBS): repeat reports on dementia, “Pleistocene Park” and John Green, author of “The Fault in Our Stars.”
— Alice retraces her steps on “Batwoman” (8 p.m., CW, r, TV-14).
— Birds in Peru behave very strangely on “Doctor Who” (8 p.m., BBC America, TV-PG).
— A parody of musical biographies, the 2007 comedy “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (8 p.m., ShowX, TV-MA) features an inspired soundtrack.
— Dey and night on “Supergirl” (9 p.m., CW, r, TV-14).
— Rattled by a vision, Jeannie warns Ralph on “The Outsider” (9 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Graham Norton hosts The EE British Academy Film Awards 2020 (9:10 p.m., BBC America).
— A killer avoids pattern and defies prediction on “Vienna Blood” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-14, check local listings).
— A rescue mission must be crowdsourced on “Avenue 5” (10 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
— Larry David has no boundaries on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (10:30 p.m., HBO, TV-MA).
CULT CHOICE
— The arrival of “Super” Sunday obscures that other folk tradition, secular holiday and inspiration of the 1993 comedy “Groundhog Day” (8:15 p.m. Sunday, Showtime Showcase). Whenever I see “The Good Place” being overpraised for its clever conceit, I think of this movie and the fact that its profound, philosophical nature never called attention to itself.
SATURDAY SERIES
Not much to celebrate on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Two helpings of “Dateline” (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG) … A mother turns into a vigilante on “FBI: Most Wanted” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “48 Hours” (10 p.m., CBS) … A vintage helping of “Saturday Night Live” (10 p.m., NBC, r, TV-14).
SUNDAY SERIES
Death in a cemetery on “NCIS” (8 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … “America’s Got Talent” (7 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … Homemade humor on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (8 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG) … Somebody doesn’t like a mommy blogger on “FBI” (9 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … Prizes galore on two hours of “Ellen’s Game of Games” (9 p.m., NBC, r, TV-PG) … On two helpings of “Shark Tank” (9 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG), Christmas CliffsNotes (9 p.m.), baby steps (10 p.m.) … A spy in the house of love on “NCIS: New Orleans” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14).
