NBC is once again opting not to take advantage of the massive Super Bowl lead-out to promote a new, returning or pre-existing entertainment program. Instead, just like the network did in 2022, it will instead go right back to coverage of the Winter Olympics.

After the Vince Lombardi trophy is hoisted at the end of Super Bowl LX on Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC Sports will segue to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics primetime show, “Primetime in Milan,” at approximately 10:45 p.m. ET — including the women’s downhill competition (which will include Lindsey Vonn going for the gold as part of her comeback) and team figure skating.

When NBC decided to air the Winter Olympics after the Super Bowl in 2022, it disrupted a longstanding tradition among the TV networks of using the post-Big Game timeslot to boost an entertainment program. In 2018, for example, NBC used the lead-out to air the landmark “Super Bowl Sunday” episode of its hit drama “This Is Us” — featuring that infamous deadly crockpot. (Sorry, slow cooker. “Crock-Pot” is trademarked.) That episode averaged a whopping 27 million viewers, making it the drama’s most-watched episode. And in 2015 after the game, NBC aired the first half of a “The Blacklist” two-parter, attracting 25.7 million viewers.

And just like in 2022, this year’s Super Bowl takes place right in the middle of the Winter Olympics (which will be held February 6 to February 22). At least this year, according to insiders, NBC did briefly mull putting an entertainment show behind the Super Bowl — options could have included a comedy like “St. Denis Medical” or a drama from the Dick Wolf world. But ultimately, given the hefty financial investment that NBCU has in the Olympics, it was decided to stick with nonstop sports on Feb. 8.

The premiums that advertisers will pay for an Olympics lead-out is clearly a factor. But also from a ratings standpoint, airing sports out of sports isn’t a bad strategy. In 2022, coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics following the Super Bowl brought in 24 million viewers.

Jenny Storms, NBCUniversal’s chief marketing officer, entertainment and sports, says she believes the industry has moved on from “the legacy days where you’re using the one singular broadcast opportunity to then flow into something else. I think now, when you’re talking about a business that has multiple platforms and multiple ways to showcase content, I don’t think you have to be as reliant on a lead out.”

Even though it doesn’t have a show premiering behind the Super Bowl, NBCU still has a series launch priority that day: Peacock’s “The ‘Burbs.” That’s because the new Keke Palmer starrer premieres the same day as the game, on Feb. 8, and Peacock is hoping to lure viewers to the show after they’ve had their fill of sports.

“We’re taking advantage of that huge audience all day, in both Olympics in the morning and then in Super Bowl, that comes to Peacock,” Storms said. “And then we’re going to be able to use promotion throughout the entirety of the day to make sure that we’re really pushing people once the events are over, once you’re out of the Super Bowl, out of the Olympics, now you have that next watch.”

Storms said NBCU will also utilize its Feb. 8 double-shot of the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics to promote the upcoming Season 2 of “Ted” (which premieres March 5), as well as NBC drama staples like the “Chicago” and “Law & Order” franchises, its batch of sitcoms, “The Voice: Battle of Champions” (which launches Feb. 23), upcoming Bravo fare and Peacock’s “House of Villains” Season 3.

Expect to also see spots, logos and interstitials during the Super Bowl and the Winter Games referencing “NBC100,” the company’s year-long initiative marking its centennial.

Still, there’s no better showcase to give a series a boost like airing it behind the Big Game. (That “This Is Us” Super Bowl episode, for example, remains an iconic touchpoint from that series’ run.) Before NBC’s move in 2022, the last time a network followed the Super Bowl with another sporting event had been in 1976, when CBS aired the Phoenix Open golf tournament after Super Bowl X. Later, the Super Bowl lead-out became a place where networks tried to launch new series (with varying degrees of success). Then the networks instead started programming special episodes of fan favorites like “Friends.”

Last year, Fox aired the Season 3 premiere of Rob Lowe gamer “The Floor” (averaging 13.94 million) after Super Bowl LIX; in 2024, CBS ran “Tracker” (18.44 million) after Super Bowl LVII; and in 2023, Fox had the cooking competition “Next Level Chef” (15.66 million) after Super Bowl LVII.

Meanwhile, up in Canada, the post-Super Bowl series lead-out tradition continues: Bell Media last week announced that the new crime drama “The Borderline” will launch following Super Bowl LX on broadcaster CTV and its sibling streamer Crave.

NBC isn’t completely out of the strategy of scheduling shows for sampling behind major sports broadcasts. This past Sunday, NBC premiered its new Tracy Morgan comedy “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,’ which is set in the world of football, behind the NFL playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears (which the Rams won in overtime, giving “Reggie Dinkins” a tremendous lead-in). And Variety has learned that NBC will also air a special episode of its new comedy “Stumble” on Feb. 20 at 10:30 p.m. ET immediately following that evening’s coverage of the Winter Olympics. (The network also just announced it will air a special edition of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Feb. 6 after the Opening Ceremony.)

“It’s one tactic,” Storms said of airing shows behind major events. “In today’s environment, you look at it as one lever… We’ve got enormous peaks in viewership coming to our platforms for almost three weeks in February. And it’s not just about a lead out, because we want to make sure we’re also defining that consumers make their choices the way they want to make them.”

And with that, NBC is leaning into the tagline “Legendary February” to promote the fact that it will be airing the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics and the NBA All-Star Game all in the same month.

The pinnacle of the month, of course, is Feb. 8. Adding to the pomp and circumstance: NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico will call Super Bowl LX from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., repping his first Super Bowl play-by-play assignment. And then, right after that, Tirico will host “Primetime in Milan” from the field at Levi’s Stadium. According to NBC Sports, that makes Tirico the first U.S. broadcaster to call the Super Bowl and host a Winter Games in the same year.

NBC may have effectively ended its practice of airing series as Super Bowl lead-outs. That’s because under the new NFL Super Bowl rotation (a deal sealed in 2021), NBC/Peacock are now landing broadcast rights for the Super Bowl on the same cycle as the Winter Olympics every four years. That means the NBCU network and its streamer will continue to air both major sporting events at the same time through at least 2033.

“This is one of the things that the entirety of Comcast and NBC Universal all participate and engage with,” Storms said. “That is the beauty of the Olympics, the Super Bowl and NBA All Star being in one month. All parts of the company are a part of this. There is absolutely just a palpable excitement throughout the entire organization around what we have ahead and such an incredible opportunity. Not just for the sports properties of ‘Legendary February,’ but more importantly, for all of the entertainment and pay 1 films and parks and Comcast. It’s a huge launch pad.”