CBS has been scheduling its hit Sunday evening show The Good Wife at 9:30pm, following an 8:30 showing of the rising Tea Leoni drama Madam Secretary. It seemed like a sensible concession by CBS, which airs NFL football on Sundays at 4pm. The NFL games rarely end on time. So CBS’s Sunday night slate of shows — a necklace strung with the network’s jewels (60 Minutes, Madam Secretary, The Good Wife and the new CSI Cyber entry) — usually get off to a late start. 60 Minutes waits for football to end and triggers a chain of lateness for each subsequent show. It’s been frustrating for viewers — especially Alicia Florrick fans who don’t care much about the Patriots or the Broncos.
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But CBS is back to its old ways, promising start times that viewers want but that the network isn’t always able to deliver. They’ve moved The Good Wife from 9:30 to a 9pm start this week, with the other shows falling into line. Maybe CBS has a hunch about the Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers game it’s airing in the 4:05pm EST slot on Sunday. They must think it’ll be a quicker game than usual. Or else they just focused grouped viewers who don’t like the scheduled late starts, and would rather tune in and wait.
