# MLB. Is the time between innings longer during the play offs? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 11, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293 "2016-10-11T22:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/1 "2016-10-11T22:42:34Z")
Maybe I am just anxious to get back to the game. But it seems that compared to regular season games, the time between innings is longer. Could this be true? More commercials? Or is it just me? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/2 "2016-10-12T00:02:39Z")
You’re not imagining it. Standard MLB inning breaks are, Regular season local broadcast, 2:05; Regular season national broadcast, 2:25; Postseason national broadcast, 2:55. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/3 "2016-10-12T02:55:16Z")
Thank you for the reply. Who determines the time between innings? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/4 "2016-10-12T03:23:55Z")
MLB does, but it does so in negotiations with the TV networks, who pay for the rights to broadcast the games. I’m sure there’s a whole lot of lawyerly back and forth over the length of the break and the amount of money the networks are paying. \*\*Network: \*\*We want a 4-minutes break between half-innings. **MLB:** Are you kidding? We already ask our fans to bend over for ridiculous blackout rules and astronomical merchandise prices. If we pushed four minutes of ads on them every half inning, we’d lose them altogether. Also, you want the games to start in prime time so you get as many viewers as possible, but you’re going to lose them anyway if the games don’t finish until 2.00 am. **Network:** How about three and a half minutes? [heads together, whispering] **MLB:** We could probably make that work, but we’d need an extra $60 million a year over the length of the deal. **Network:** Now it’s you who is kidding. We’re already paying you about $500 million a year. **MLB:** Sorry, but we generally prefer not to screw our fans over JUST for the fun of it; there has to be a financial upside. If you want anything over three minutes, you’re going to have to pony up substantially more. At least, that’s about how i imagine it going. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/5 "2016-10-13T02:24:25Z")
^^^^^ Brilliant! I love it! And probably closer to the truth than we’d like to believe. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-is-the-time-between-innings-longer-during-the-play-offs/768293/6 "2016-10-20T17:00:59Z")
Regarding: Is the time between innings longer during the play offs? Yes it is. During the regular season, the commercial break was 1 minute, 30 seconds. (This was for Giant and Oakland A games on local telecast). During the NLCS, I clocked commercial breaks at 2 minutes 30 seconds. Note: I used the Stop Watch feature on my iPhone to gauge these results. Hope this helps.