NFL finally realizes it’s dumb to make London games start at 9:30 a.m. ET

The NFL’s sagging ratings have forced the league to reevaluate some of its decisions, including the attempts to use London as a way to squeeze another time slot into the weekend viewing schedule of football fans.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL is discussing moving the 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff times for games in London back to 1 p.m. ET.

From 2007-2013, all eight games played in London during that span kicked off at 1 p.m., but during the 2014 season, the NFL toyed with a 9:30 a.m. kickoff for a game between the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions. While two other London games in that season kicked off at 1 p.m., the NFL was evidently happy with the early kickoff and made it the standard for all games overseas, even

It’s not hard to understand the NFL’s logic for the decision. The league essentially owns Sunday from 1 p.m. ET until the conclusion of Sunday Night Football at close to midnight. By squeezing in an early game, the NFL can claim another three and a half hours of TV time on its biggest day of the week and the time difference in London meant it didn’t burden fans hoping to attend.

But with Thursday and Monday games every week, over-saturation has been a reason for concern for the NFL for years and the dipping ratings in 2016 suggest they pushed a little too far. The earlier time slot forced competition with the English Premier League and it’s also a difficult time slot for football fans on the West Coast, with Los Angeles Rams fans forced to wake up for a game that kicked off at 6:30 a.m. PT.

The Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints are scheduled to meet in London in 2017, although a time and date haven’t yet been announced. The Jacksonville Jaguars will also play a game in London, and the Rams are scheduled to play internationally, but a country hasn’t yet been announced.