When should I come back to see my show?

March 28, 2010 6:11 PM

If a sports game or another special event shown on TV runs over, how can I find out how much the station is delayed by so that I know when to come back for my show?

This is kind of a silly question, but I was trying to tune in to a show tonight, and I realized that it was going to start later than usual (because of basketball, perhaps?). Is there any easy way to find out how long the delay will be? My first instinct was to contact the station, but I don't have a phone number for CBS, and the information didn't appear to be available on its website. I guess I could look up how long the game took, but I don't necessarily know which game it was and whether there was any additional post-game delay.

Basically, I'm hoping for either a website I can look at or a number that I can call that will tell me that, for example, CBS is running 24 minutes behind in my area. Does this exist?

posted by cider to media & arts (8 answers total)

Since sports is a variable length event, there's basically no way except to keep watching.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 6:14 PM on March 28, 2010

On post, I figured you're talking about shows that aren't the first after the overflow. I do not know of any site that would tell you this information.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 6:15 PM on March 28, 2010

Yes, sorry -- I'm talking about shows that take place not directly after the sporting event, but maybe one or two shows later in the evening.
posted by cider at 6:18 PM on March 28, 2010

CBS Eye-lerts is the one I use to make sure I catch Amazing Race every week. They'll send you a text or an email, depending on the info you put in.
posted by SNWidget at 6:21 PM on March 28, 2010 [3 favorites]

Yes, sorry -- I'm talking about shows that take place not directly after the sporting event, but maybe one or two shows later in the evening.

It depends on your show and your timezone. Most of the time networks will want to return to their regularly scheduled time slots as soon as possible. If it is a wildly popular show they'll show the whole thing and it will pre-empt whatever comes after it until the late local news comes on.

Other times, they'll go from the sporting event and "join our regularly scheduled program already in progress". In other words, the show that comes after it will be on at its scheduled time.

In the age of DVRs this really messes things up because there's not hard and fast rules.
posted by birdherder at 6:49 PM on March 28, 2010

In lieu of an automated Andy Rooney detector on your TV (and that should really be doable these days, though back in the 1930s...) that will cue T-5 for The Amazing Race, those network-specific SMS alerts are your best bet.
posted by holgate at 6:59 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]

This only works for shows on CBS on a Sunday, but if you watch 60 Minutes long enough to get to a commercial break, you can see the minute hand on the stopwatch they show and judge from there.
posted by NoraCharles at 8:07 PM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]

Thanks, everyone! It looks like the Eye-lert is my best bet (even though it's not letting me sign up for some reason). I do the ticking clock thing on 60 minutes, but it requires being glued to my TV while I wait for it to come up...
posted by cider at 5:54 AM on March 29, 2010