[mythtv-users] The Heidi Game: Why TV stays on the sports program

[Jim Berwick]

On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 2:54 PM, Tom Lichti <tom at redpepperracing.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Nov 2, 2011 at 1:39 PM, Roger H <mythtvuser1818 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I am not sure about TSN or RSN but the Hockey Night in Canada on CBC
>> always schedules 3 hours for their NHL games, which is more than enough to
>> cover the game and a regular season overtime/shootout and they then fill the
>> rest of the time with post game coverage.  Since there is a 3 hour time
>> difference between Eastern and Pacific timezones, they can (and do) show 2
>> games back to back.  If they show a third (afternoon) game, they tell the
>> NHL to have it start at 3:00pm (Eastern) so they can break for a 30 min news
>> cast at 6:00pm and then have a 30 min pre-game show at 6:30.
>>
>> Of course come playoff time, if the game goes to overtime, they need to
>> start pre-empting other programs as they keep playing 20 min (game time)
>> periods (with full 15 minute intermissions between them) until someone
>> scores.  These periods go a bit faster though as there are no commercial
>> timeouts (only a brief pause about half way through the period to shovel the
>> goal creases).
>
> TSN schedules them for 2.5 hours. I got bit enough times that I added
> padding to my hockey rule. For the playoffs I think I add 180 minutes just
> to cover all possibilities.
> Tom

Games in my area of the states are on either Versus, Comcast
Sportsnet, NBC (late in the season) or NHL Network.  They are always
listed as 2.5 hours.  I have my power searches set to pad 30 minutes
to the regular season and 60 minutes to playoff games.  If it is going
longer, I manually adjust as needed.  Without padding some time, I'm
pretty sure I'd miss the end of just about every game that airs during
the regular season whether it goes to OT/shootout or not.  I know when
I'm at the game the clock says 9:35 or later when the final horn goes
off just about every night.