Editing NFL on CBS (section)

====CBS broadcasts its final Super Bowl as the NFC package holder====
At [[Super Bowl XXVI]], Lesley Visser became the first female sportscaster to preside over the [[Vince Lombardi Trophy]] presentation ceremony. The network's telecast of Super Bowl XXVI on January 26, 1992, was seen by more than 123 million viewers nationally, second only to the 127 million that viewed [[Super Bowl XX]]. The ongoing 1990 television contract gave CBS rights to Super Bowl XXVI instead of [[Super Bowl XXVII]], which was in the network's rotation of the champion game. The NFL swapped the years in which CBS and NBC held rights to the Super Bowl in an effort to give CBS enough lead-in programming for the upcoming [[1992 Winter Olympics]] that were set to begin [[Olympics on CBS|two weeks later]]. For this game, CBS debuted a new network-wide red, white and blue graphics package as well as a new theme song<ref>{{YouTube|title=The NFL ON CBS 1992-1993 (Full Theme)|id=hPbMj5aW3AY}}</ref> (composed by Frankie Vinci) for its NFL coverage that replaced the one CBS debuted for its coverage of Super Bowl XXIV two years earlier. The package lasted until the end of 1995, after which CBS discarded it in favor of an orange and yellow color scheme for its sports graphics. The new music lasted until CBS lost the NFL rights at the end of the 1993 season, but continued to be used by [[NFL on Westwood One Sports|CBS Radio]] until [[2002 NFL season|2002]]. Several remixed versions of the 1993 theme were used upon the return of the NFL to CBS until the end of the 2002 season, when CBS replaced its entire NFL music package with one composed by [[E.S. Posthumus]].

To [[Super Bowl counterprogramming|compete with the halftime show]] (which featured a halftime show entitled "Winter Magic", a Winter Olympics-themed show starring [[Gloria Estefan]], [[Brian Boitano]], and [[Dorothy Hamill]] to tie into CBS's upcoming broadcast of the Games), [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] decided to broadcast a special live episode of ''[[In Living Color]]'' and was able to attract and keep Super Bowl viewers. The live episode featured football-themed sketches (such as ''[[Men on...|Men on Football]]''), a performance by [[Color Me Badd]], and a clock counting down to the start of the third quarter. The episode was sponsored by [[Frito-Lay]], who paid $2 million to hold all national advertising time, and to help budget and promote the special; the effort included a $1 million giveaway, whose winner was announced during the broadcast. A CBS executive felt that the concept was "cute", but dismissed concerns that the ambush would have any major impact on the viewership of the Super Bowl. The special drew 20 to 25 million viewers away from the Super Bowl; [[Nielsen ratings|Nielsen]] estimated that CBS lost 10 ratings points during halftime as a result of the special.<ref name="trib-goalofspectacle">{{cite news|title=Goal of spectacle colors NFL's thinking about Super Bowl halftime show|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/02/06/goal-of-spectacle-colors-nfls-thinking-about-super-bowl-halftime-show/|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=January 30, 2013|date=February 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="lat-tacklessuperbowl">{{cite web|last1=Weinstien|first1=Steve|title=Fox Tackles Super Bowl With Sly Plan : Television: The 'rebel network' hopes to siphon off viewers from CBS with a halftime show of its own featuring the gang from 'In Living Color.'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-25-ca-724-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=January 25, 1992 |access-date=November 15, 2016}}</ref> It was decided that [[Michael Jackson]] would perform at [[Super Bowl XXVII halftime show|halftime]] during [[Super Bowl XXVII]], followed by more big-name talent during subsequent Super Bowl halftimes in order to maintain Super Bowl viewership.

In September [[1993 NFL season|1993]], ''The NFL Today'' celebrated its 19th season as a half-hour pre-game show. It was the highest-rated program in its time slot for 18 years, longer than any other program on television.