The NFL International Series has mainly taken place in London, England in the 2016 season. The one exception was a Monday night game between the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders on November 21, which was played in Mexico City, Mexico.
There was no problem with how the Mexico game played out. There is a problem with the games in London, however. The games start at 2:30 p.m. UK time. That is 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast and an unbelieveable 6:30 a.m. in Los Angeles and on the West Coast.
No one wants to get up at 6:30 a.m. PT to watch the Los Angeles Rams or a tie. A great way to make it work for everyone is change the time of the games in London to Sunday night.
SNL: Sunday Night London
In the USA, Sunday Night Football games are played at 8:30 p.m. ET or 5:30 p.m. PT. If this game was played at 8:30 p.m. London time, it would be 3:30 p.m. ET and 12:30 p.m. PT.
This would help in many different ways: the numbers would go up, NFL fans in the USA would get more sleep, and players would have more time to practice.
Wake up, West Coast
While the East Coast already has games to watch at around 3:30 p.m, the West Coast NFL viewers typically have to wait until a 4:05 or 4:25 p.m. ET game is on in their area. With a London game being played at 12:30 p.m. PT, NFL fans in Los Angeles and other cities along the West Coast would get to watch an NFL game before their team played.
One may make the argument that the west coast does watch games being played on the East Coast. Those games are at 10 a.m. PT, though. Unless one has a job working weekends or has a young child, they will not be waking up at 10 a.m. PT on a Sunday: they would want to sleep in. With a game at 12:30 p.m. PT, they would be able to wake up to football at a time they would likely prefer to watch games at.
Early for the East Coast
The same could be said for the East Coast, as well. Anyone on the East Coast that doesn’t work weekends nor have any young children would rather not have to wake up at 9:30 a.m. ET to watch an NFL game. The majority would rather sleep in after a long work week and a wild Saturday night. A 3:30 p.m. ET start for a London game would be better for not just the fans, but the ratings of the TV network broadcasting the game.
Numbers would go up more if they game was set in the afternoon. Most would be watching the end of a 1 p.m. ET game. If the game they’re watching is a blowout game, they’ll be looking for something else to watch. A new game starting before the 4 p.m. games kick off would be perfect for the average NFL fan.
The players could also benefit from the later start. If the London game started at 8:30 p.m. UK time over a 2:30 p.m. start, both teams would be able to practice more for this game. More practice could potentially make for a good game.
When it comes down to it, later start times for London games are the direction the NFL needs to go in for their International Series.
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