Are you in the market for a new television? If so, your timing is good. While it’s common wisdom that TV deals are the best around the time of the Super Bowl, sales data also show that’s true.

The Super Bowl itself is a convenient excuse to go TV shopping, but it’s not the main reason for the mid-January price drop. New TV models come in in the spring, and the Big Game is just a convenient hook to clear out old stock.

Our analytical colleagues down the hall at Consumer Reports worked with market research company Gap Intelligence to analyze price data and confirm what bargain-hunters already suspected: Black Friday and before the Super Bowl are the best times to find deals on TVs.

Looking at two years’ worth of TV price data, they found that prices decline over time after the debut of a new model. A TV that hits the market this spring for $1,100 could cost as little as $650 by the time the following year’s Super Bowl sales roll around.

The best sale prices are generally on Black Friday, but those dramatic discounts are just the beginning of TV Discount Season.

Prices drop over time while a model is on the market, but Super Bowl sales boost the discounts even more, usually taking the price down another 22%. Larger sets tend to be part of Super Bowl sales more often, since no one wants to watch the Big Game on a puny 40″ screen.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.