Fans watching CBS’ Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden on the Eastern and Central time zones will now get to watch the special in its entirety.
CBS originally debuted the special Sunday, April 14, though the network abruptly ended the telecast a full two minutes early for Eastern and Central time zones.
The two-hour special will now re-air in its entirety on Friday, April 19 from 9 PM ET to 11 PM ET, according to a network press release, after fans bashed the network.
‘A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones,’ a statement from the network began.
‘We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song,’ the statement added.
Fans watching CBS’ Billy Joel : The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden on the Eastern and Central time zones will now get to watch the special in its entirety
The two-hour special will now re-air in its entirety on Friday, April 19 from 9 PM ET to 11 PM ET, according to a network press release
‘Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT,’ the statement concluded.
Joel himself took to both his X and Instagram accounts to share the CBS statement, letting fans know the special will re-air this Friday.
Joel was signing the final verse of his 1973 classic Piano Man when the special abruptly cut off and transitioned to local news broadcasts in Eastern and Central time zones.
On top of the early ending, the special – which was set to air at 9 PM on Sunday, was pushed a half hour when primetime coverage of the Masters golf tournament spilled over into primetime.
Many fans took to social media to voice their displeasure, including @Tommygunn1544.
‘Dear @CBS, F**k off. #BillyJoel #MSG #100 concert not only starts a half hour late, but then you cut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130?’ he began.
‘Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that’s been advertised for MONTHS, and you f**k it up,’ he added.
@ToddChappelle tweeted alternate lyrics in the tune of Piano Man, stating, ‘Sing us a half-song, you’re the Piano Man Sing us a half-song tonight Cause we all heard a part of a melody And CBS producers aren’t bright. #BillyJoelOnCBS #BillyJoel100 #BillyJoel’
‘Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT,’ the statement concluded
Joel himself took to both his X and Instagram accounts to share the CBS statement, letting fans know the special will re-air this Friday
Many fans took to social media to voice their displeasure, including @Tommygunn1544
@TheGunzShow shared a video from a New York broadcast that showed the moment the special cut off and went right into a local news segment,’ before calling out CBS
@spfarrelltweets added, ‘What the absolute F**K @CBS? You promote #BillyJoelOnCBS for months only to cut it off for local news on the east coast & pre-empt it by nearly an hour & cut off my local broadcast? No wonder so few watch your s****y network. @billyjoel & those of us who tuned in deserve better’
@TheGunzShow shared a video from a New York broadcast that showed the moment the special cut off and went right into a local news segment,’ before calling out CBS.
‘Hey @CBS wtf is this?! You cut off @billyjoel during Pianoman of all songs?! And then didn’t come back to it?!?! Now wonder network TV is a mess. Not ballin, not ballin at all,’ he said.
@spfarrelltweets added, ‘What the absolute F**K @CBS? You promote #BillyJoelOnCBS for months only to cut it off for local news on the east coast & pre-empt it by nearly an hour & cut off my local broadcast? No wonder so few watch your s****y network. @billyjoel & those of us who tuned in deserve better.’
The special was filmed in March, signifying his 100th consecutive performance during his long-running Madison Square Garden residency.
