The Atlantic

The Super Bowl’s Base Is Eroding Rapidly

The game faces two broad threats: a declining audience and a new advertising culture.
Source: Jessica Kourkounis / Reuters

The Super Bowl may seem like an invincible juggernaut. In a world of fragmented content, in which all digitally connected human beings awaken to their own News Feed, Netflix recommendations, or Spotify Discover Weekly playlist, it’s the one piece of media that is all but guaranteed to reach 100 million Americans at the exact same time. Of the 10 most watched broadcasts in U.S. history, nine of them are Super Bowls from the past decade (the other is the 1983 M*A*S*H finale).

But the Super

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