8/7c Means 7:00 p.m. in Chicago, Same Moment as 8:00 p.m. in New York

That notation is not a suggestion. It is the industry's iron rule for live simulcasts. The Eastern feed is the master. Central stations take that same signal live, so the local clock reads one hour earlier. When a promo says "8/7c," the show starts at 7:00 p.m. CT in the Windy City, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Same picture, same second, different number on the screen.

Mountain and Pacific viewers do not get a live feed for most network programming. They get a tape-delayed replay at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT. That is why the "c" exists. Central is the only other zone that matters for a true national simulcast. The rest of the country waits.

How Does the Central Time Broadcasting Schedule Handle Live Feeds Versus Replays?

If you are buying ad time or scheduling a live event, anchor to Eastern prime time and let Central fall where it does. A 9:00 p.m. ET start lands at 8:00 p.m. CT, 7:00 p.m. MT, and 6:00 p.m. PT. That spread is brutal for the West Coast but keeps the Central audience in their prime window.

For maximum live viewership across all four mainland zones, book the single hour that works: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. CT. That is 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. MT, and 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PT. No one is eating dinner on camera.

Why Does the Central Time Broadcasting Schedule Put Prime Time at 7:00 p.m.?

Prime-time television in the zone runs 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. CT. That is one hour earlier than the Eastern prime-time block of 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET. A 7:00 p.m. CT start collides with dinner for many households. Networks accept that trade-off for live events like the Super Bowl. You do not have to. Push a recorded program to 8:00 p.m. CT and you clear the plates.

Advertisers pay premium rates for the 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. CT window anyway. The audience size justifies it. But if your spot needs undivided attention, buy the 8:00 p.m. CT slot or later.

Schedule Around the Mexico City Split

Mexico abolished DST nationally in October 2022, effective 2023. Most of the country is now on permanent standard time. Mexico City sits on America/Mexico_City, fixed at UTC-6 year-round. The city of 12,294,193 does not move its clocks. Chicago springs forward and falls back.

That means Mexico City and the Illinois hub share a clock from November to March. From March to November they diverge: Chicago moves to UTC-5 while Mexico City stays put. If your broadcast crosses the border, check the date. A 7:00 p.m. CT live event in July hits Mexico City at 6:00 p.m. CST. A 7:00 p.m. CT event in January hits both cities at the same moment.

Northern border municipalities follow the US DST schedule. Matamoros and Brownsville stay locked together all year. Know which side of the border your audience is on before you book the satellite window.

When Does the Central Time Broadcasting Schedule Hit a Wall on Clock-Change Nights?

The zone changes its clocks at 2:00 a.m. local. On Sunday 8 March 2026, clocks go forward 60 minutes to 3:00 a.m. CST becomes CDT. On Sunday 1 November 2026, clocks go back 60 minutes to 1:00 a.m. CDT becomes CST. In 2027, the spring shift is 14 March and the fall shift is 7 November.

Automation systems that trigger at 2:00 a.m. will either skip an hour or run twice. Check your playout logs. Confirm whether your traffic system treats the missing hour as lost inventory or compresses it. Do not let the answer surface during a live feed.

Does the Central Time Broadcasting Schedule Work the Same Way in Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan is an outlier. America/Regina stays on CST year-round, no DST. That puts Regina in lockstep with Chicago during winter but one hour behind during summer. If your network feed assumes a CDT offset in July, Regina hears dead air at the top of the hour. Confirm the province's local clock before you send the cue tone.

How to Convert 8/7c to Your Local Clock

If you are in the Eastern zone, the show starts at 8:00 p.m. If you are in Central, it starts at 7:00 p.m. If you are in Mountain or Pacific, check your local listings. You are almost certainly getting a tape-delayed feed at 8:00 p.m. MT/PT. Do not assume a live stream.

What 8/7c Tells Advertisers

Networks sell "roadblock" ads that run simultaneously across all zones. A 30-second spot at 8/7c hits New York at 8:00 p.m. and the Great Lakes hub at 7:00 p.m. The same creative, the same moment. Mountain and Pacific see it later on the delayed feed. If you need true national simultaneity, buy the live Eastern/Central window and accept that the West Coast sees it on tape.

Why Central Gets Its Own Number

The zone covers roughly a third of the continental US population. Major markets include Chicago (population 2,664,452), Dallas (1,326,087), Houston (2,314,157), and San Antonio (1,526,656). When you schedule for that many viewers, you print their number in the promo.