:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4532509/130134596.jpg)
The NFL today announced that they are shifting the late game from Sunday afternoon doubleheaders back 10-minutes, from 4:15 pm ET to 4:25 pm. This shift is designed to limit the number of times a fan either misses the end of one game or the start of the other, due to NFL television rules.
The NFL mandates that a fan in a local market sees the entire game for a local team. That means, if a team has the late game, CBS or Fox are required to leave the early game to show the kickoff of that local market late game. According to the NFL's research, that exact situation happened 44 times between 2009 and 2011. If the second game's kickoff had been just 10-minutes later, that number would have dropped to just 15 times over the three seasons.
This change should help fans not in either of the late game's home markets as well, as CBS and Fox typically stay with the early game until completion when the NFL's home market mandate is not an issue. The 10-minute delay in late game kickoffs should allow more fans to watch the entirity of both games, not missing the first portion of the second game.
Approximately 40 games next season will be affected by the change. The 10-minute delay will not change the 4:05 kickoff of games not involved in a television doubleheader.