Effects of time zones on North American broadcasting

Map of time zones in Canada and the United States.

The scheduling of television programming in North America (namely the United States, Canada, and Mexico) must cope with different time zones. The United States (excluding territories) has six time zones (Hawaii–Aleutian, Alaska, Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern), with further variation in the observance of daylight saving time. Canada also has six time zones (Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, Atlantic and Newfoundland). Mexico has four time zones (Southeast, Central, Pacific, and Northwest). This requires broadcast and pay television networks in each country to shift programs in time to show them in different regions.