What time does the Super Bowl actually start? It’s a question millions of Americans ask themselves on Sunday, and it’s surprisingly tough to get a straight answer. A simple internet search will turn up answers like “around 5:30 p.m.,” or “kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.” but there’s not much definitive info like you would find for a regular season game.
NBC Sports’ Noah Pransky set out to find out why the information is hazy around the start time for the most-viewed TV event in the United States year after year.
“It’s the biggest showcase for the NFL to get across all of the things it stands for,” said former ESPN production executive Dennis Deninger. “They’re hoping that people will tune in as early as possible for that 6-6:30 eastern window and catch most of the messaging that they want to deliver.”
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If anyone would know, it’s Deninger who now teaches a class called “The Super Bowl and Society” at Syracuse University.
“The NFL wants as many of those 200 million viewers as possible to take in that pregame, and a few extra commercials.”
If you want to catch the national anthem, pre-game musical acts and the full host of football festivities, you might want to play it safe and turn on your TV around 4 p.m. But if you’re just looking for the game, it seems like you’ll be safe if you tune in at 5:30.