Super Bowl 51 pregame show: Time, live TV schedule, and performers for Sunday

What better way to prep for football than a Bill O’Reilly-Donald Trump interview?

Updated Feb 5, 2017, 3:44 PM UTC

Jasper Colt-USA TODAY

Sunday’s Super Bowl 51 pregame show will feature everything from NFL analysis to a frank discussion on United States policy. Fox will sneak an interview with America’s 45th president, Donald J. Trump, into its 7.5 hours of coverage leading up to kickoff.

Fox News pundit Bill O’Reilly will sit down with the president to provide a brief respite from a full work day’s worth of football chatter, but that doesn’t mean the pair won’t touch on the big game. President Trump has been outspoken about his support of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and the Patriots. Odds are good he’ll bring up his “good friend” Brady at least once in his pregame conversation.

The presidential interview isn’t a new feature for the Super Bowl or for Fox. The last two times the game aired on Fox, O’Reilly interviewed then-President Barack Obama.

O’Reilly prided himself on asking contentious questions in a statement released earlier in the month, but also suggested his interview with President Trump could be a bit less hard-hitting.

“You may remember, I did this back in 2014 with Barack Obama, and it was controversial because I pushed the president on a number of issues, including the terror attack at Benghazi,” O’Reilly said.

“This time around, I expect to ask President Trump a number of policy questions but also about how he is processing his amazing achievement: A man with no political experience winning the most powerful office in the world.”

Interesting or not, it should certainly generate some discussion — just like the rest of the Trump presidency so far.

The coverage starts at 11 a.m. ET with NFL Films’ “Road to the Super Bowl.” That’ll be followed by a full hour of nonsensical banter when the “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed Super Bowl Special” aurally assaults the nation. Next is the “Fox Super Bowl Kickoff” from 1 to 2 p.m., featuring Dave Wannstedt, Charles Tillman, and a man with no affiliation to the NFL whatsoever, screaming goat Colin Cowherd.

Finally, the network will get down to brass tacks with a 4.5-hour “Fox Super Bowl Pregame,” which will feature the company’s typical pregame crew and their dancing football robot. Wedged in the middle of Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long yelling into the void and waiting for a response, America will be treated to Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump at about 4 p.m.

Before country artist Luke Bryan sings the national anthem, Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Jasmine Cephas Jones from the Broadway smash Hamilton will treat us with a rendition of “America the Beautiful.”

Kickoff between the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots is set for 6:30 p.m.

It’ll be the tightest 450 minutes of pregame coverage you’ve ever seen.