NFL Reportedly Plans to Change Start Times for Games Played in London

The NFL's declining television viewership has been a hot-button issue all season, and the league is reportedly planning to change the start times for games played in London as a way to maximize exposure. 

Citing a person with knowledge of the situation, the Wall Street Journal's Joe Flint reported "games played in London will air in the afternoon in the United States along with the rest of the games" starting with the 2017 season.  

Flint added "ratings have been tiny" for games that have started across the pond at 9:30 a.m. ET. 

Date	Result
Oct. 2	Jacksonville Jaguars 30, Indianapolis Colts 27
Oct. 23	New York Giants 17, Los Angeles Rams 10
Oct. 30	Cincinnati Bengals 27, Washington Redskins 27

On Nov. 20, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the league was considering tweaks to start times for the London games. Citing sources, Schefter said the London games will likely start at 1 p.m. ET along with the rest of Sunday's early slate.

"The reasoning would be to close a viewing window the NFL has created that extends the day and possibly detracts from interest in other games," Schefter wrote. 

On Oct. 19, Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the league's declining television ratings and acknowledged the NFL was focused on making changes. 

"We don't make excuses; we look at it and we try and figure out what's changing," he said, according to NFL.com's Conor Orr. "I think you're touching at a point that I think is significant, which is consumer changes and their behavior, and the way they consume media. That's something we've been focused on for several years."

Oversaturation has been cited as a potential reason for the NFL's ratings drop, but the league released a statement Monday indicating it has no plans to streamline its schedule more and eliminate the Thursday night window. 

"We are fully committed to Thursday Night Football and any reports to the contrary are unfounded," the league's statement said, according to NOLA.com's Mike Scott. 

With Thursday Night Football evidently still part of the NFL's plans, adjusting the London start times could be a good way to explore a more compact schedule before re-evaluating whether changes need to be made to the rest of the slate.