ATS Consultants posted on June 29, 2012 13:23
NFL shifting start time of 2nd game
NFL fans have missed amazing endings in the past as later games started at 4:15pm on Sunday. Now they will be moved to 4:25pm to avoid those situations.
The extra 10 minutes could also help Vegas and sportsbooks. According to the NFL, 44 games overlapped last season. Under the 4:25 kickoff, that number would have been reduced to 15. That would allow bettors time to get some late action on the second game.
The NFL announced a scheduling change Thursday which means 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.
On Dec. 4, Denver beat the Minnesota Vikings on a field goal as time expired on Fox, the Broncos' fifth straight win. 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.