Need help with US TV scheduling

BackBanana

New member
Sep 2, 2008
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shithole england
Hi guys, im currently scraping a tv listings site, using keywords to filter out tv shows.

In the UK scheduling is pretty simple, as there's only one timezone to deal with, and all channels are available across the whole country one way or another.

Can anyone tell me what the score is in the US? Are all channels available to everyone in the US (via any mainstream method), Also, do TV listing sites try to work out where in the US you are and default to listings for your Timezone?

Any help appreciated :bowdown:
 


Unless it's something big like the Super Bowl, a lot of national network broadcasts do Eastern, Central and (I think)Mountain at the same time and Pacific 1-2 hrs later.


Cable is split up between traditional cable and dish-based services (though technically, they all come from a dish at some point). You have (can buy) access to the main cable networks from any provider, but some services have licensing to provide specialized feeds (sports mostly).

TV Listings - Find Local TV Shows and Movie Schedules - Listings Grid | TVGuide.com lets you specify your location and provider, if you can manage to get around all the ads.
 
It can be confusing, because technically, it could be both. All the promos I see on TV and geolocated ads here will always have Eastern/Central like so:
9/8C

On live shows, like football games with a national audience, when they announce what comes on next, they often will say 'stay tuned for "...," except on the west coast, where you will see "..." instead.'

But a primetime show on the West coast won't broadcast at 6PM and in order to keep the same lineups, they'd also broadcast it at 9PM so a promo could just say 9PM and be correct for both.