What time will Super Bowl 2019 start (and end) tonight?

Super Bowl LIII is scheduled to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET. But what time can the 100 million people tuning in expect the game to end?

The Mercdes-Benz Stadium is seen ahead of the Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.Read moreMike Stewart / AP Photo

by Rob Tornoe

Published Feb. 3, 2019, 9:45 a.m. ET

Super Bowl Sunday is finally here, with the New England Patriots taking on the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (though all anyone seems to want to talk about is CBS analyst Tony “Romostradamus” Romo). You still have to wait all day before Tom Brady and Jared Goff take the field, but that gives you plenty of time to pop in last year’s Super Bowl highlights DVD and relive the Eagles' Super Bowl victory (some Birds fans around the region are even holding re-watch parties).

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV channel: CBS

Streaming: CBS All Access (offering a free seven-day trial), FuboTV, NFL GamePass, YouTube (all require a subscription)

Mobile: NFL Mobile app and Yahoo Sports app (free on smartphones and tablets within the Philadelphia market)

MORE DETAILS: TV coverage plans and streaming info for the Super Bowl

The average NFL game typically has about 16 commercial breaks, and due to all the untimed stoppages in play, NFL games don’t really have a set “end time.” The Super Bowl is even tougher to predict, thanks to all those expensive commercials and a full-blown concert at halftime (this year, Maroon 5 will headline alongside Travis Scott and Outkast member Big Boi).

So what time will Patriots-Rams actually end?

The Eagles' 41-33 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII last year went on until 10:25 p.m., lasting 3 hours and 55 minutes. That was also the length of Super Bowl LI in 2017 between the Patriots and Atlanta Falcons, the only NFL championship game to ever go into overtime. Since 2010, the longest Super Bowl remains Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, which lasted 4 hours 15 minutes due to a 34 minute blackout in the Superdome in New Orleans.

Over the past nine seasons, the average length of the Super Bowl is about 3 hours and 46 minutes. Using that measure, the game should end around 10:16 p.m. ET.

Back in 2015, MarketWatch estimated that more of a quarter of the Super Bowl broadcast (over one full hour) is advertisements, while just over 12 minutes of real football is actually played. In fact, the halftime show typically takes up as much time during most recent Super Bowl broadcasts as the action on the field.

That should give you plenty of down time to order the best guacamole takeout Philadelphia has to offer, or ponder why this year’s Super Bowl logo looks almost identical to last year’s ... and the year before that.