FORT SMITH, Ark. — After promoting a concert by Billy Joel, CBS pulled the plug early in the East and Central time zones as the Piano Man was singing his signature song during the finale, leaving many viewers to believe local news had broken into the performance on purpose.
CBS issued a statement and said it would re-air the concert:
“A network programming timing error ended last night's Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones ... We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song.
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 8:00 PM CST.”
The abrupt ending of the concert then switched to many local station's late-night newscasts, KFSM included, which gave some the impression that the local station had made the switch.
CBS also posted a free recording of the show on its website.
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