Brent Musburger has never been shy about expressing his view of the NFL’s dominance in American culture, and the legendary broadcaster believes the league’s pull continues to shape the sports media landscape in meaningful ways. Speaking on The NFL Today+ via CBS Sports, Musburger spoke out about the surge of shows built around pro football, Musburger pointed to the ratings that drive the conversation.
“Well, there’s more [shows] of it,” Musburger said. “I mean, everybody has live shows, and now there’s talk shows. Football is the number one entertainment in this country. Period. End of story. Look at the ratings of the top 100 shows at the end of the year. Okay, Super Bowl always going to be one, but in the top 10, it’s dominated by NFL games.”
He referenced the NFL’s opening weekend on NBC as an example of the league’s unmatched drawing power. Both the Thursday night kickoff and the Sunday night showcase drew massive numbers, reinforcing why advertisers prioritize football over nearly everything else.
“This is where the advertiser wants to be. Involved with the National Football League,” Musburger explained. “And so you get the offshoot of that is all the talk shows.”
For Musburger, the multiplying number of outlets and programs covering football is not something to be concerned about. Instead, he believes it adds value to the sports media ecosystem.
“I think it’s for the better, because we just have more opinions, more voices,” he said. “Yeah, I think the more voices you get, the better.”
Musburger’s perspective speaks to a larger truth about the NFL’s cultural presence. Networks, streamers, radio stations, and digital platforms continue to invest heavily in football-driven programming, knowing the audience rarely shrinks. The league’s gravitational pull fuels debate shows, podcasts, and daily segments across outlets ranging from ESPN and Fox to YouTube and TikTok.
Musburger and his the legacy of The NFL Today on CBS was honored on Sunday marking the 50th anniversary of the network’s coverage of the league. CBS Sports went all-in on its retro look for its broadcast on Sunday as their studio took on a unique, 1970s-era look for the pregame show, and all of the hosts at the desk dressed up in clothing more fitting of that era. In-game analysts Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt joined in with changes to their looks to better fit the theme. In addition, CBS brought back legendary broadcaster Musburger, who was the original host of “The NFL Today,” for its pregame show, joining James Brown, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson and Matt Ryan.
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