Why are shows on the West Coast an hour later than the East Coast? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Yong Fang · 07-05-2022, 07:24 AM

I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and Prime Time was between 7:00 and 10:00. The 6:00 hour consited of news and then maybe Jeoprady or a rerun of a sitcom (my father became a fan of Seinfeld watching it at 6:30 after the news at 6:00.) Then the local news came on at 10:00 PM. The Tonight Show or Saturday Night Live (SNL) would come on at 10:30 to 11:30, which means the similar "Late Late Show" (like Letterman's NBC show) would come on at 11:30 PM.

Then I lived in Las Vegas, NV (Pacific Time) and the shows were an hour later. The local news and the filler show before Prime Time was the 7:00 hour, then Prime Time was 8:00 to 11:00 and then the local news at 11:00. Tonight Show (or SNL) was on at 11:30 until 12:30 and then the "Late Late Show‘ would be on at 12:30 AM.

Maybe its because I grew up with the former but I prefer 7:00-10:00 Prime Time over 8:00-11:00. My question might be did the late local news and the Tonight Show especially get lower ratings because people had to wake up for work the next morning. People on Western time would be more apt to just turn off the TV at 11:00. Concerning SNL, it probably benefitted by most people not having to work on Sundays so they stayed up late watching SNL (like I did as a child, Saturday nite was the only night I could stay up until Midnight)

Which schedule did Mountain Time do? If you lived in Denver for example?

Which do you prefer? I hated the West Coast because everything was an hour later and maybe I wanted to watch something on Carson but would have to wait til 11:30.

icecream · 07-05-2022, 01:25 PM

Tennessee is not on the east coast. You were in central time there, not eastern.

opus · 07-05-2022, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

Tennessee is not on the east coast. You were in central time there, not eastern.

Tennessee has two time zones

>>>Tennessee has 2 major time zones observed, the east parts are in the Eastern Time Zone, and the west parts are in the Central Time Zone.

Currently the east part observes Eastern Daylight Time, the west part observes Central Daylight Time.<<<

http://www.timebie.com/us/tennesse.php

icecream · 07-05-2022, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by opus

Tennessee has two time zones

>>>Tennessee has 2 major time zones observed, the east parts are in the Eastern Time Zone, and the west parts are in the Central Time Zone.

Currently the east part observes Eastern Daylight Time, the west part observes Central Daylight Time.<<<

http://www.timebie.com/us/tennesse.php

Yong Fang would have been in the central time zone part of the state since he mentioned primetime there was 7-10.

TSMIV · 07-05-2022, 04:59 PM

Primetime in the eastern time zone is 8pm-11pm. The middle of the country (central and mountain time zones) has primetime 7pm-10pm. Way back in the 1980s, TV promos would say something like "Dallas: Friday 9pm, 8 central & mountain".

BigManMike · 07-05-2022, 05:33 PM

I live in Memphis, TN as well and yes it is Central time zone.

BigManMike · 07-05-2022, 05:35 PM

There is usually more than one feed for each network. Eastern and Central are on the same feed, with Eastern starting at 8 and Central starting at 7. Mountain has a separate feed that also starts at 7. And Pacific has a separate feed that starts at 8.

Yong Fang · 07-07-2022, 04:48 AM

Not to argue the point, what I meant was that there are basically two different time zones which effects the time of Prime Time...West Coast and Central and Eastern time. Mountain starts at 7:00 per the poster above. So only the Pacific Time Zone it is 8:00.

Why does the Pacific West start one hour later than seemingly the rest of the country? Like I said, what I didn't like living in Las Vegas was that the end of Prime Time was 11:00.

icecream · 07-07-2022, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Not to argue the point, what I meant was that there are basically two different time zones which effects the time of Prime Time...West Coast and Central and Eastern time. Mountain starts at 7:00 per the poster above. So only the Pacific Time Zone it is 8:00.

Why does the Pacific West start one hour later than seemingly the rest of the country? Like I said, what I didn't like living in Las Vegas was that the end of Prime Time was 11:00.

Eastern time is the same as Pacific time for primetime shows from 8:00-11:00 (excluding live events like sports), it is central and mountain time zones only that are an hour earlier.

Yong Fang · 07-09-2022, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

Eastern time is the same as Pacific time for primetime shows from 8:00-11:00 (excluding live events like sports), it is central and mountain time zones only that are an hour earlier.

Why is that is my question. Just seems that 7-10 PM would garner higher ratings and having the Tonight Show on at 10:30 would also have higer ratings that 11:30 when many people have day jobs and go to bed by then.

I guess I grew up with 7-10 which is why I prefer it.

icecream · 07-09-2022, 10:13 AM

8-11 seems more natural to me. That way Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! can share the 7PM hour in whatever markets syndicate them. In central time they would likely be split up with Wheel at 6:30 and Jeopardy! too early before the 5PM newscasts start. The Tonight Show was good when Jay Leno and Johnny Carson were hosting. But after Jay retired from late night, none of the current hosts interest me.

AMackII · 07-09-2022, 11:39 AM

Not Sure but I live in STL but the CST time zone is 1 hour later than the Eastern Zone

scotchnh2o · 07-09-2022, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMackII

Not Sure but I live in STL but the CST time zone is 1 hour later than the Eastern Zone

Did you change your clocks forward or backwards?

Yong Fang · 07-11-2022, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icecream

8-11 seems more natural to me. That way Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! can share the 7PM hour in whatever markets syndicate them. In central time they would likely be split up with Wheel at 6:30 and Jeopardy! too early before the 5PM newscasts start. The Tonight Show was good when Jay Leno and Johnny Carson were hosting. But after Jay retired from late night, none of the current hosts interest me.

To us, if remember correctly, that Jeoprady was on inthe late afternnon before the news and maybe Wheel on after the news.

I do know that my market was whether crazy and the 4:30 side hour was for them (or 5:30) where you lived....

One of the funniest TV situations now was the Denver Broncos playing somebdy and that teams went the Superbowl. Channel 3 the local affiliate had a guynamed Tim Spenser who is a good guy, he works at 3 now. Spenser cut into weather radar and all of this and we are clogging their telephone number DEMANDING the game be out on, and in the end still sucked was lower half of the game. We didnt care.

Before you write us all rubes, we hear this every single summer and early fall. Most have seen a destrusion of a torado but the chance of beneath one is nil.

07-05-2022, 07:24 AM	#1
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	Why are shows on the West Coast an hour later than the East Coast? I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and Prime Time was between 7:00 and 10:00. The 6:00 hour consited of news and then maybe Jeoprady or a rerun of a sitcom (my father became a fan of Seinfeld watching it at 6:30 after the news at 6:00.) Then the local news came on at 10:00 PM. The Tonight Show or Saturday Night Live (SNL) would come on at 10:30 to 11:30, which means the similar "Late Late Show" (like Letterman's NBC show) would come on at 11:30 PM. Then I lived in Las Vegas, NV (Pacific Time) and the shows were an hour later. The local news and the filler show before Prime Time was the 7:00 hour, then Prime Time was 8:00 to 11:00 and then the local news at 11:00. Tonight Show (or SNL) was on at 11:30 until 12:30 and then the "Late Late Show‘ would be on at 12:30 AM. Maybe its because I grew up with the former but I prefer 7:00-10:00 Prime Time over 8:00-11:00. My question might be did the late local news and the Tonight Show especially get lower ratings because people had to wake up for work the next morning. People on Western time would be more apt to just turn off the TV at 11:00. Concerning SNL, it probably benefitted by most people not having to work on Sundays so they stayed up late watching SNL (like I did as a child, Saturday nite was the only night I could stay up until Midnight) Which schedule did Mountain Time do? If you lived in Denver for example? Which do you prefer? I hated the West Coast because everything was an hour later and maybe I wanted to watch something on Carson but would have to wait til 11:30.

07-05-2022, 01:25 PM	#2
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,704	Tennessee is not on the east coast. You were in central time there, not eastern.
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07-05-2022, 04:59 PM	#5
TSMIV Member Forum Regular Join Date: Dec 29, 2018 Location: Arkansas Posts: 696	Primetime in the eastern time zone is 8pm-11pm. The middle of the country (central and mountain time zones) has primetime 7pm-10pm. Way back in the 1980s, TV promos would say something like "Dallas: Friday 9pm, 8 central & mountain".

07-05-2022, 05:33 PM	#6
BigManMike Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 3,022	I live in Memphis, TN as well and yes it is Central time zone.

07-05-2022, 05:35 PM	#7
BigManMike Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 3,022	There is usually more than one feed for each network. Eastern and Central are on the same feed, with Eastern starting at 8 and Central starting at 7. Mountain has a separate feed that also starts at 7. And Pacific has a separate feed that starts at 8.

07-07-2022, 04:48 AM	#8
Yong Fang Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 04, 2009 Location: Memphis Tennessee Posts: 3,073	Not to argue the point, what I meant was that there are basically two different time zones which effects the time of Prime Time...West Coast and Central and Eastern time. Mountain starts at 7:00 per the poster above. So only the Pacific Time Zone it is 8:00. Why does the Pacific West start one hour later than seemingly the rest of the country? Like I said, what I didn't like living in Las Vegas was that the end of Prime Time was 11:00.

07-09-2022, 10:13 AM	#11
icecream Cat-tastic and Whiskerlicious Forum Celebrity Join Date: Sep 01, 2006 Location: The Catacombs Posts: 20,704	8-11 seems more natural to me. That way Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! can share the 7PM hour in whatever markets syndicate them. In central time they would likely be split up with Wheel at 6:30 and Jeopardy! too early before the 5PM newscasts start. The Tonight Show was good when Jay Leno and Johnny Carson were hosting. But after Jay retired from late night, none of the current hosts interest me.

07-09-2022, 11:39 AM	#12
AMackII Member Forum Star Join Date: Oct 23, 2015 Location: St. Louis Posts: 17,215	Not Sure but I live in STL but the CST time zone is 1 hour later than the Eastern Zone