Boycotting playoff games that don't start by 8:30

[nickagneta]

These start times are dictated by television and maximizing ad revenue.

Right now, you have 4 series' going on and each needs to be resolved before the start of the LCS'.  This is a small time frame to work with.  Complicating the matters (for east coasters) is the fact that they're are two pacific time zone teams playing.  This leads to the staggering for starting times that acts in the detriment of east coast fans.  Both TBS & Fox know that advertisers will pay more for primetime slots which have more viewers.  Thus, they want people at home on BOTH coasts if all's possible.  This leads to last night's 10pm start.  Also contributing to the matter was the fact that the other two games were played in a Eastern Time Zone city and a Central Time Zone city.  Naturally, the game being played on the West Coast is going to get the late slot.  Also throw into the picture that Los Angeles and Boston are both top 10 media markets, its a no brainer for the television executives to put this game in primetime on the East Coast and as close to primetime as possible on the West Coast.  The TBS' and Fox' of the world paying high television rights fees to Major League Baseball on the condition that they get those primetime slots.  Major League Baseball wants to maximize revenue so they give in.  

You can also forget about the "What about the kids?" argument.  That fell by the wayside a loooong time ago.  Budweiser, Blackberry, etc... want to hit that all important 18-35 demographic.  The far majority of that group will be watching in primetime.  The advertisers want to maximize the exposure there.  Kids just don't have that appeal.

It's all about the allmighty $$$ when it comes to these game start times.

There goes Donny bringing reality and common sense into this discussion.

Actually you're 100% right, as usual. It's all about maximizing the Benjamins and as long as they do that without completely alienating their audience out of watching the games, TV execs just don't care what time we east coast people have to get up to go to school or work.

[D Dub]

well, as a west coaster -- i am just stoked to at least catch the second half of the game when I get home from work at 7pm. 

If the start times were 6pm Eastern, I don't get the choice to watch the game ---- unlike the East Coasters who have the choice to stay up later and watch.

[Redz]

We oughtta start a home game at 1 AM just to spite the west coasters for having the nerve of being in such a radically different time zone.  As long as we knew someone else was suffering, I'm sure Boston fans would be willing to do it.

[crownsy]

We oughhta start a home game at 1 AM just to spite the west coasters for having the nerve of being in such a radically different time zone.  As long as we knew someone else was suffering, I'm sure Boston fans would be willing to do it.

Lol, TP, that what i feel like some people's attitude is sometimes :/

[SShorefan 3.0]

I tried to boycott last night's game, in fact I was doing a great job from 8:30 - 10, but I didn't do such a great job after 10.

[CDawg834]

The quickest solution to this problem would be for the Sox and Cubs to advance, which would eliminate the 2 teams who are not in either Eastern or Central time zones.

Of course, Fox would STILL start the games at 9...

[Steve Weinman]

The quickest solution to this problem would be for the Sox and Cubs to advance, which would eliminate the 2 teams who are not in either Eastern or Central time zones.

Of course, Fox would STILL start the games at 9...

No, no...no Cubs advancing...true LA blue! 

-sw

[Redz]

The quickest solution to this problem would be for the Sox and Cubs to advance, which would eliminate the 2 teams who are not in either Eastern or Central time zones.

Of course, Fox would STILL start the games at 9...

No, no...no Cubs advancing...true LA blue! 

-sw

Teams should have to honor their original cities time zones.

Brooklyn = Eastern Time Zone

EVERYONE'S HAPPY

Actually, I guess that doesn'treally help the Sox / Angels situation so much

[Steve Weinman]

The quickest solution to this problem would be for the Sox and Cubs to advance, which would eliminate the 2 teams who are not in either Eastern or Central time zones.

Of course, Fox would STILL start the games at 9...

No, no...no Cubs advancing...true LA blue! 

-sw

Teams should have to honor their original cities time zones.

Brooklyn = Eastern Time Zone

EVERYONE'S HAPPY

Actually, I guess that doesn'treally help the Sox / Angels situation so much

Heh, having never lived West of the central time zone, that certainly wouldn't bother me...as usual, I like the way you think, Redz 

-sw

[Global Celtic]

Bill Simmons once wrote that if NBA mantains this start times it will end up like baseball, with no under-20 fans.

[crownsy]

Bill Simmons once wrote that if NBA mantains this start times it will end up like baseball, with no under-20 fans.

bill Simmons also once wrote that the laker's would beat us in 5. He's a good writer, but he's not always right. (though i do agree with him that the NBA needs to quit it with the super late playoff start times)

[Sun Devil]

As a Boston sports fan out in Arizona, the start times for the sox and celts are perfect. Now getting up as a college kid on Sunday mornings in time to catch a Patriot's game that starts at 10am is another story.

[Eja117]

Bill Simmons once wrote that if NBA mantains this start times it will end up like baseball, with no under-20 fans.

bill Simmons also once wrote that the laker's would beat us in 5. He's a good writer, but he's not always right. (though i do agree with him that the NBA needs to quit it with the super late playoff start times)

I disagree that Bill Simmons isn't always right.

[Eja117]

If the games started here at 5:30 I'd love it. I'd get to listen to some of it on the radio on the way home or it would be starting right as I get home. You could watch it during dinner and when it finished it would still be prime time and I could watch a show and get to go to bed knowing who the winner was. How does starting games at 5ish PST hurt the west coast? It's as simple as this. They get to watch all the games and we don't. I don't know what we did to become baseball's second class citizens but it happened. So i will support leagues whose games I actually get to watch. If they can get away with this the next thing that will happen will be 10pm Super Bowls. And then 11pm Super Bowls. If they can get the Hawaii audience by screwing us and we all watch anyway they'll do that too. And then maybe it'll be "But Hawaiians are people too." No they aren't. No they aren't I say.

again, im glad it would work out for YOU, but that doesn't give you the right to arbitrary decided that California has to lose their 7pm games, which have been the traditional start times of baseball games since i can remember,  which are super covenant, to appease you on a personal level.

right now, i get off work at 5PM. i have things to do after work, im not ussaly in the house until 6:30ish, so the 7 oclock starts are great. why, if i lived out west, should i be expected to miss an hour and a half of the game for your personal satisfaction? not everyone works the same hours, my roomate doesn't get home till 7 ish, it would be even worse for him.

Personally, it would benefit my viewing schedule  greatly this year if no NFL games started before 4PM, since i have a little brother in pop warner and he plays 1:30-3:30, but that doesn't mean i'm going to get all uppity and demand that all Football games start at 4PM or i'll do some kind of boycott because I'm inconvenienced. plenty of people, (including me when pop warner isn't going on) love the one oclocks.

It's incredibly self centered, and down right Anti-butu (new word alert  ) to put yourself on some kind of pedistal and demand the world change for your personal satisfaction.

I don't remember lots of traditional 10pm start times. And other posters are right. The late start times are seeping into games with two teams on the east coast. We get 9pm start times for teams in the East and Central. What the heck is traditional about that?

as was brought up sevral post ago, thats a diffrent issue that fox does in the ALCS with tryign to shift both games into primetime, that i could be with you on, and posted as such. those games should start at 7 in the time zone they are located in, just as they do in the AL/NLDS.

 10PM isn't the games start time. They are starting at 7PM, the traditional start time since i can remeber, as i said. It sucks that There's a three hour time diffreance, but in CAL, those games are starting at the traditional start time of 7PM. Thier game last night ended at 10:11, the time most of our games get over all year when they start at 7.

Again, you've yet to prove to me why we should be in favor of screwing with thier start times because they happen to have a geographical time change involved. "how would they like it!!!" is an irrelvant argument, as it still places a higher value on our happiness over thier right to have the same start times as they did all season.

I.E "were better than you are, suck it up and play your games when WE want YOU to. It's more important you conform to our schedule than you do to ours"

Thats a self centered attitude, anyway you slice it.



 

There's nothing self centered about suggesting that during the playoffs that both teams be able to see some of the games. Rather if we follow the desires of the West Coast apologists then Boston gets to watch the games when the games are in Boston and the West Coast gets to see some portion of all the games and somehow that's fair and it's self centered to suggest it isn't.

Yes 10pm EST start times are common during the season. I don't remember them happening so much during the playoffs.

And the networks making ridiculous start times for two East Coast teams is directly related.   At the rate they are going they'll go for 2am games if Californians watch them in high numbers and the East coast will get tape delayed games like we did with the Olympics. The Olympics had an excuse which was that they were on the other side of the world. There's no excuse here for why one coast gets shut out of one half of the playoff games and the other doesn't.

[StartOrien]

i work til 10: BRING ON THE 10 O'CLOCKS!