How Long Does The Super Bowl And Halftime Show Last? NFL Viewing Info

The Super Bowl is much more than just a football game. The commercials, halftime show and action on the field combine to form the biggest night in sports, making it the most-watched television event each year.

The average NFL game lasts a little more than three hours. Because of additional commercials and an extended halftime, the Super Bowl lasts longer than almost every regular-season game.

Super Bowl 2018 between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. EST at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium. Much of the audience will be tuning in long before the official start time in order to see the pregame introductions and the national anthem.

Sunday’s game is likely to end sometime between 10:05 p.m. EST and 10:15 p.m. EST. Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 lasted three hours and 36 minutes, while Super Bowl 50 in 2016 took three hours and 43 minutes to complete.

The New England Patriots needed three hours and 47 minutes to beat the Atlanta Falcons in last year’s Super Bowl, though that game ended under rare circumstances. It was the first Super Bowl in history that went into overtime.

The halftime show is the biggest reason for an extended game. Regular-season halftime usually lasts 12 minutes, but sometimes there are more than 30 minutes in between the end of the second quarter and the start of the third quarter in the Super Bowl.

Lady Gaga’s halftime performance in 2017 lasted 13 minutes. Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars all performed at halftime of Super Bowl 50 for close to 13 minutes, as well.

Justin Timberlake will headline Sunday’s halftime show. He last sang at the Super Bowl in 2004, joining Janet Jackson for their now-infamous performance. There’s been speculation that Jackson or other NSYNC members could join Timberlake, though the singer has claimed that he won’t perform with any special guests.

Most of the three and a half hours of the Super Bowl broadcast will be taken up by commercials, which for many non-football fans is the biggest reason to tune into the game. The average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad is more than $5 million, according to Sports Illustrated.

NBC will broadcast Super Bowl LII.