NFL shifting start times of doubleheaders' second game

[JamesSavik]

NFL shifting start time of doubleheaders' 2nd game

 

http://stats.athlonsports.com/fb/story.asp?i=20120628112530409798408

 

NEW YORK (AP) Tim Tebow was leading the Broncos on yet another improbable last-minute comeback, and fans in New York, Dallas and other football-mad markets didn't get to see the end.

The NFL announced a scheduling change Thursday aimed at preventing such moments. The league is shifting the start time of the second game of its Sunday TV doubleheaders by 10 minutes to ensure fewer fans miss any of the action on the field.

The late afternoon matchups on CBS and Fox will kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET instead of 4:15. Late games not on that week's doubleheader network will still start at 4:05.

Because of the networks' contractual obligations, fans in the past would sometimes miss the end of the early telecast or the beginning of the late one if the 1 p.m. game ran long. The broadcasters must switch to the start of the second game in the home teams' cities even if the day's first televised contest is still going on. For fans in other markets, that overlap means they don't get to see the opening of the late game.

During the 2009-11 seasons, 44 games lasted long enough to require part of the audience to be switched. Under the 4:25 kickoff, that number would have been reduced to 15.

On Dec. 4, Denver beat the Minnesota Vikings on a field goal as time expired on Fox, the Broncos' fifth straight win as Tebow-mania swept the country. The game ended at 4:19 p.m. ET, so hometown fans of the Packers, Giants, Cowboys, Cardinals, Rams and 49ers - whose teams played in the 4:15 game - missed the final seconds.

NBC said it would not change the way it produces its Sunday night pregame show, which starts at 7 p.m.

[colinian]

Our cable company carries the NFL Red Zone; they show all of the key plays, live or with a short delay, for the games in progress. Then they replay the top 10 plays just before they sign off. This includes plays from blacked-out local games. It is very cool, and the broadcast is in HD. I just hope they have it for the upcoming season. On Sundays we have the Red Zone going non-stop at our house.

 

Colin

Edited June 29, 2012 by colinian