Time Differences

[normchurch]

i am about to watch chelsea v benfica in amsterdam. the game starts at 1945 (7.45pm) uk time. but amsterdam, where the game is being played, is an hour ahead of us. does this mean that (a) the game starts at 2045 their time or (b) we are being conned and what we are seeing is actually nearly over by the time we see it.

[coccinelle]

The game starts at 8.45pm dutch time. in France night matches all start at that time, it's when they are played in the UK or Portugal we can get caught out.

[gingejbee]

I think ITV would be in a WHOLE lot of trouble if it wasn't shown as it's happening - because they say it's "live".

[normchurch]

In that case, this is blo*ody ridicuulous. Why should a game start at 8.45pm? No, I know the answer ... pis*ant television.

[normchurch]

meanwhile, if all clubs refused to start a game in the middle of the night, then i reckon we'd see some changes pronto!

[bibblebub]

It's TV that has provided most of the money that slops around in the game these days, and the broadcasters are only going to pay if they can maximise their advertising revenue by having kick-off times when it suits them.

[joggerjayne]

I've just been trawling around the BBC website.

It looks like the game is a goalless bore.

[Sipowicz]

I've just turned on, John Terry can't have done much, his kit is very clean!

[bibblebub]

i happened to have a fiver on the 2-1 scoreline

[Sipowicz]

What odds Bibblebub?

[bibblebub]

10/1

[Wharton]

I wanted to bet that Torres wouldn't score in Amsterdam. Bookies wouldn't take me on.

[bibblebub]

oh dear, there's Terry in his kit again

[Sipowicz]

Bibble, see my post at 21:45.

[sir.prize]

What a joke - John Terry didn't play but was presented with the trophy . . . .

[bibblebub]

ah, Sipowicz, i'd turned over after the final whistle and only happened to turn back at presentation time

[Meg]

OMG, my son has gone to Amsterdam to watch this match, I did ask him to check the time difference, I forsee him getting to the match in good time then missing his plane tomorrow AGAIN!!

[FredPuli43]

Games in France, probably elsewhere, regularly start late by our standards, at 8.45. Don't think TV has anything to do with it. The French prefer that time. A lot of workers work until 6 or later and the French do everything late anyway, including eating in the evening.

Where you get messed about there by TV is the clubs announce their fixtures and times at the start of the season. Fine, but then the TV companies intervene and have the times, and sometimes the dates, changed to suit themselves. This can be quite late on, to the annoyance of those who plan trips

[ichkeria]

Champions League matches in Ukraine, for example, start at 9.45pm local time, which is much later than the kick-off time for local games.
Whereas in Russia they start at 8 pm local time which is usually 5pm "our" time.
On the other hand in say Portugal, where many gamess seem to kick off late by our standards, for the purposes of the Champions League still they kick off at 7.45/6.45 GMT
In other words, for the purposes of the Champions League TV does matter it would seem, except in Russia. And even then, the 2008 final there didn't start till 10.45 local time.

[woolleysheep]

Portugal has the same time as uk

[ichkeria]

Portugal has the same Time Zone as the UK FWIW, but so far as I can tell later midweek kick off times in general than the "standard" CL times.