Aside from the general audience demographics for opera being quite different in Europe -- and the Ross article made it clear that the concerns were about Europe, not NYC or the rest of North America -- when broadcast live, the earliest start time is 5pm (GMT) for a long opera like "Parsifal" or 8pm in Moscow. The "Orpheus ed Eurydice" I saw in Helsinki starred at 8 or 8:30pm. The morning or matinee schedule that appeals to an older and less mobile audience that is more heavily dependent on public transportation and/or daytime driving does not apply in Europe.