US primetime in different timezones.

[sub]

I've always wonder what happens with primetime shows in the US in regard to different timezones. You guys live in a large country, spanning many timezones. Is "primetime" the same in each of these time zones (shows play at different local times in different parts of the country), or one nation primetime which varies depending where you are (shows play at the same time in New York and LA)? Can anyone tell me?

Do the big channels do national broadcasts, or are the shows broadcasts at the times appropriate to the timezone by local affiliates?

[dark_half]

I believe Eastern and Central timezones show at the same time so a show in New York(Eastern) at 8pm would show at 7pm in Dallas(Central). Also the Mountain and Pacific follow the same pattern.

[zehd]

What gets really silly is when there's a show like Saturday Night LIVE. Which is recorded live at 11:30 pm NewYork time, but tape delayed for each of the time zones westward.

There's a new show called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which is a sort of behind the scenes of SNL, though it originates in LA. The time delay gets even crazier 'cause they have to pass the date line, and down under, and even kiwiland, and then things get really turned upside down...

[Ted the Penguin]

I had been wondering this as well, but since I live in the eastern zone, and all US TV is based on eastern time, it hasn't become an issue for me.

[Spartan]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Time_zone

Broadcasting concerns

Due to the structure of broadcasting networks in the United States (mostly television, but to a lesser extent radio as well), programming is aired simultaneously in the Eastern and Central Time zones, which accounts for lines such as "tonight at 8/7 Central" on many network promotional ads. As a result, morning programming lineups designed for East Coast viewers may start too early for viewers in the Midwest and the central South; hence, they are tape-delayed to air at 7am Central (except when breaking news happens or special occasions such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which airs at 9am Eastern/8am Central, pushing back the morning shows to air live at 6am Central).

Also, an hour of syndicated programming time (between 7pm-8pm in the Eastern Time Zone) is lost since network prime time starts at 7pm Central, forcing TV stations to choose from airing their 6pm newscast and a program, or airing shows in 'blocks' preferred by syndicators (i.e. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! together, or Entertainment Tonight and The Insider). Many stations in the Central Time Zone tend to air one part of the syndicated block at 5pm or even earlier. The most common set of programming chosen by the big three television networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) is to air a newscast at 5pm, national news at 5:30pm, local news at 6pm, and syndicated programming at 6:30pm Some stations even show a newscast from 6 to 7pm.

Similarly, media coverage of New Year's Eve celebrations in New York City often leave the Central Time Zone out. Late Night with Conan O'Brien, though produced in New York, semi-annually (as it does not air on weekends) takes advantage of its later time slot (11:35pm Central) to lampoon this inconsistency and produce its own New Year's countdown for television viewers in the Central Time Zone.

Canadian broadcasting networks, with six time zones to span and a larger percentage of its audience residing in the Mountain Time Zone than in the Central Time Zone, sometimes are able to avoid these issues by airing prerecorded programs on local time, although adjustments are sometimes still made (mainly due to the influence of U.S. television). The problem is largely moot in Mexico and other parts of Latin America because of the lack of significant other time zones.

[User]

Do the big channels do national broadcasts, or are the shows broadcasts at the times appropriate to the timezone by local affiliates?

Depends on the show. If it is a live show they will say the show is on at 9p eastern/ 6p pacific etc. If it is a prerecorded show in prime time then more likely it will show in the same time slot for both west and east coast. I.E. delayed 3 hours for west coast. Thats for broadcast channels. For specialty channels over Directv Sattelite for instance, they broadcast shows for the whole country at the same time so they will do the 9p eastern/6p Pacific thing. I am on the West coast.

[Fatman_do]

It used to be crazier in northern Indiana until this past year.
I lived a 1/2 mile North in SW Michigan (in the Eastern Time Zone).

My local channels are broadcast from South Bend, which used to be 1/2 year on Eastern Time, then, since they did not observe "Daylight Savings Time", would spend half of the year on Central time.

And to think people in Indiana hated the change this year to follow Daylight Savings Time. ??????????

[sub]

Thats for the info guys. It makes me thankful we only have the one timezone...

[kayak4ever]

One of the advertised benefits of satellite TV in Canada is "timeshifting", not the GBpvr kind, but the ability to watch your favourite shows in any of the timezones. For example, a satellite user will be able to receive CTV-Moncton, CTV-Ottawa, CTV-Calgary and CTV-Vancouver (as well as the other major Canadian stations broadcasting from each of these and other cities). If your favourite show comes on at 8 p.m., you can watch it at 4 different times, depending on which affiliate of CTV you watch. I think this means in Canada, we generally don't synchronize the airing of the shows across the country consistently.

There is some synchronizing of broadcast schedules, particularly since Newfoundland is 1/2 hour before or after the rest of Atlantic Canada. We will often see or hear a reference to a show (TV or radio) being broadcast "at 8:00 (8:30 in Newfoundland)".

[rdaleypa]

I'm surprised that more Americans aren't chiming in. Of course, if they have only lived in one time zone, they may not know.

I have lived in 3 of the 4 zones. If it is a prime time show that is on at 9pm Eastern, then it is on at 8pm Central and 7pm Mountain which means all of those people watch it at the same time. The Pacific time zone (the west coast) shows it at the same local time as the Eastern time zone rather than show it at 6pm. So they see the show 3 hours later.

For example, Heroes (my favorite) is on tonight at 9pm where I am in the Eastern time zone. My mother-in-law in the Central time zone will watch it at the same time (except it is 8pm there). People in the mountain time zone will watch it at the same time as well but it is 7. People in the pacific time zone will watch at 9pm their time which is 3 hours behind me. Assuming most people work until 5 or 6, the people on the west coast will not be home in time to watch prime time shows if they were to start at 5pm so they are delayed.

Live shows and sporting events are generally showed live. That is why those of us that watch Monday night football on the east coast are exhausted every Tuesday during football season from staying up until 12:30. The reason for the late start is that the network lost viewers on the west coast because the games were starting too early out there. I loved living on the west coast because you could have a beer, watch the entire game, and still be in bed by 10:30.

Speaking of football, when a regular Sunday game is running late, they always say "stay tuned for 60 minutes immediately following the game except on the West Coast when it will be shown at it's regularly scheduled time." That is because the 7pm (east coast) show is on at 6 and 5 pm in the Central and Mountain zones but will show at 7pm pacific time (and the game will be over several hours before it will be 7 on the west coast.

Sorry for the long winded explanation but after living all over the place, I think this is interesting.