NFL shifting start time of doubleheaders’ 2nd game
NEW YORK — The NFL 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, the league said Thursday. 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.
Late afternoon games not on that week’s doubleheader network will still start at 4:05.