Super Bowl Kickoff Time History: What Time Does the Game Usually Start?

Unlike some championship games, the Super Bowl has been pretty consistent with kicking off at the time that it is scheduled.

Patriots defensive back Malcolm Butler's interception sealed the last Super Bowl matchup between New England and the Seahawks. | Bob Breidenbach/The Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Super Bowl LX is set for Sunday Feb. 8 as the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in San Francisco. It is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, a game the Patriots won 28-24 thanks to an improbable interception by New England defensive back Malcolm Butler at the goal line with time waning.

The Super Bowl, of course, is set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET. Championship games across professional sports (and at the college level) in the United States tend to start later than the time indicated. This is frequently due to advertising, and ensuring that as many eyes as possible are on the television screen when the game is kicked off.

With that said, the Super Bowl has been remarkably consistent at starting right around 6:30 p.m. ET. So if you're planning to watch The Big Game as millions will be on Feb. 8, make sure to be in front of the television as close to the advertised start time as possible.

Here are the start times for the last 10 Super Bowls. As you'll note, the league has been very good about being on time for kickoff. In fact, the last time the game didn't kickoff at 6:30 p.m. sharp was in 2014, when Super Bowl XLVIII kicked off at 6:32 p.m. ET.

Kickoff Times for Last 10 Super Bowls

Super Bowl	Kickoff Time	Advertised Time
Super Bowl 50	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LI	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LII	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LIII	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LIV	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LV	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LVI	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. Et
Super Bowl LVII	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LVIII	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET
Super Bowl LIX	6:30 p.m. ET	6:30 p.m. ET

Why does the Super Bowl kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET?

The NFL has settled the kickoff time at 6:30 p.m. ET as the league has found the time to be the peak primetime Sunday viewing window across all time zones in the United States. It's not too late in the evening on the East Coast, and it's between lunch and dinner time out West. The NFL has found television ratings to be highest at this time, which is why it has remained so consistent year over year.

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