I follow NHL and NBA, and they always start 5-10min late from the schedule.

Is this just a broadcasting problem to Europe or are they always just late?

On a second note congrats on the Miami F1 track, it’s probably the most astonishing F1 track out there.

15 comments

  1. Can’t tell you why this happens in other sports, but in baseball it is normal for both teams managers to meet at home plate at the top of the hour. Teams meet and exchange lineups, talk with the umpires, then start the games five minutes later. Think it started as tradition, but has found its way into baseball’s rules and I imagine it is similar for other sports too

  2. Nah they’re always late. Not 100% sure, but if I’d guess it’s so you tune in to some extra advertisements

  3. Official start of the game is not when coverage begins.

    In the NFL, the official kick off is 7 minutes after coverage begins.

  4. Introductions, announcements, the national anthem, etc. That stuff is counted as part of “the broadcast” despite being before tip-off or whatever. Also, y’know, another couple commercial breaks.

  5. You are probably seeing the schedule for the start of broadcast coverage not the start of the game. The coverage will usually start 5-10 minutes before the game is scheduled to start. So, you might have an NHL game scheduled for coverage to start at 6:30 but puck drop is scheduled for 6:35.

  6. >On a second note congrats on the Miami F1 track, it’s probably the most astonishing F1 track out there.

    Watching Bottas beat both Mercedes *might* have given me a semi, not gonna lie. Now he’s just gotta follow through tomorrow.

  7. It also gives them time to get an extra commercial or two in before the game starts.

  8. It depends on where you look. If you’re looking at TV listings, things are typically blocked out by the half hour. There are also plenty of locations that will typically round the start time to the nearest half hour (often they have a vested interest in getting you to turn in early to the broadcast to watch a few more ads).

    But if you actually look at an official listing for the game, such as in a newspaper or sports website, they will list the actual start times of the games. For example, [Here](https://www.espn.com/mlb/schedule/_/date/20220508) is the schedule of MLB games for tomorrow as listed on ESPN’s (a major sports news and broadcasting organization) website. And you can see the actual start times for the games are typically not on the hour or the half hour.

  9. Not much different from movie theatres that have a start time of X but you have 10 minutes of previews.

  10. Depends on the sport, MLB typically first pitch is at the time the game is supposed to start, other leagues like the NBA start maybe 10 or so minutes after the posted “game start” time.

    It’s not a broadcasting issue

  11. You got 2-3 hours. 5 minutes isn’t gonna kill you. Also official start≠ network start. Networks block off time

  12. Tip off/puck drop is typically 5-10 minutes after broadcast start time so they announcers can do their pre-game intro.

  13. It’s supposed to be the start time for the broadcast not the game itself. It’s a little annoying but is honestly nice when you’re in the stadium. The extra few minutes to find your seat is useful

  14. I thought late like why at 9 or 10pm, which sucks, not 5-10 minutes.

    The answer is that the game starts 5-10 minutes after the hour, the broadcast begins at top-of-the-hour.

  15. I’d wait until after the race to judge it but it looks like it’s gonna be an interesting race! Loving this F1 season so far! I miss Kimi!

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