Why do most TV shows air an hour earlier in the Central time zone?

All times for tv shows are based on eastern. Us folks on the west coast just had to figure out that if we tune in at 7 central we misssed it. Lame but whatever. I dont watch a ton of tv anyways.

The show schedule says the same for network and advertiser convenience. With only a one-hour difference, live shows can still be seen live in Central time. With the three-hour West Coast difference, the audience would not be at its peak if the evening schedule began at 5 P.M. Some live shows are telecast live, others are delayed.

West COast is great for football though! You start with brunch and most games are over by 4 P.M. ish.

8PM Eastern = 7PM central, so its actually the same time. I think they do change it for Mountain and Pacific because the time difference is too great, as Marina said.

I think there’s some confusion as to my question…. Central time is isolated from all other time zones when it comes to TV scheduling, live shows or not. A lot of live events are live regardless of time zones, especially sporting events.

I understand that 7pm central is technically the same hour as 8pm Eastern, but my question is why do they alter air times for TV shows ONLY in the Central time zone, when in every other time zone they air the show at the same local time.

I know for a fact that Marina’s answer isn’t correct, just from friends in the industry.

I love living on the east coast. All the times announced on TV are already correct! Why is it an hour earlier in the central? It’s more convenient for the watchers time-wise.