The first half of the Super Bowl is 30 minutes of game clock , split into two 15‑minute quarters, but in real time it usually takes about 1.5 to 2 hours from kickoff to halftime because of clock stoppages, reviews, and commercials.

Quick Scoop: How long is the first half?

  • NFL rules set each quarter at 15 minutes of game time, so the first half is 30 minutes of clock time.
  • In reality, with incomplete passes, timeouts, penalties, commercial breaks, and replay reviews, those 30 minutes stretch to around 90–120 minutes of actual viewing time.
  • The Super Bowl tends to run on the longer side compared with many regular-season games because of extra TV production and ad breaks.

Rough timeline example

  1. Kickoff to end of 1st quarter: ~40–50 minutes real time, depending on pace of play.
  1. Short break between 1st and 2nd quarter: a few minutes, plus commercials.
  1. 2nd quarter to halftime: another ~40–50 minutes, especially if there are reviews or many passes near the end of the half.

So if kickoff is at, say, 6:30 p.m. Eastern, you can usually expect halftime to arrive somewhere around 8:00–8:15 p.m. in most recent seasons.

In forum discussions, fans often say “the first half feels like forever,” but when you factor in all the stoppages and ads, that 30-minute game clock stretching to around two hours checks out.

TL;DR:

  • Official first half: 30 minutes of game clock (two 15-minute quarters).
  • Real watching time: usually about 1.5–2 hours from opening kickoff to halftime in the Super Bowl broadcast.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.