“SNL” is doing something it has *never done* before and we are so pumped
Despite the name, for the first time ever Saturday Night Live will air live in all time zones. Usually, the show airs live on the East Coast, but those of us further to the West see it on a delay.
Now, though, with SNL rising in popularity in the recent season (in no small part due to ah-mazing political content), NBC decided it would be a good idea to make sure that everybody has the option of seeing it at the same time, and reacting in real time instead of having it ruined for you by EST Twitter (we’re not bitter). If that worries you, though, don’t worry — SNL will rerun after the live airing in PT and CT time zones at its normal time.
NBC Entertainment Chair Bob Greenblatt said on the subject: “‘SNL’ — enjoying its most popular season in two decades — is part of the national conversation, and we thought it would be a great idea to broadcast to the west and mountain time zones live at the same time it’s being seen in the east and central time zones. That way, everyone is in on the joke at the same time.
Since there’s nothing more annoying than having all of the best jokes and impressions made into bite-sized, autoplaying, utterly unavoidable videos on social media before the episode even airs for you, we really like this idea. Especially with the binge watching model becoming increasingly popular, it’s nice to see a show commit to having a weekly conversation.
In light of this, Saturday Night Live will air at 11:30 PM Eastern, 10:30 PM Central, 9:30 PM Mountain, and 8:30 PM Pacific.
As mentioned, though, if that’s too early for you — SNL will be repeated at 11:30pm in the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Good news all around.
