On Sunday night, CBS aired Billy Joel: The 100th – Live At Madison Square Garden, a concert special documenting the 100th night of Joel’s MSG residency, which took place on March 28. Those watching the television broadcast were met with an unwelcome surprise when the show-ending performance of “Piano Man” was cut off unexpectedly and the local news started playing instead. Fans were mad. CBS has issued a statement apologizing for the error.
“A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones,” the statement reads. “We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song. Due to 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 start time of Joel’s concert special had already been delayed by a half hour due to the broadcast of the Masters Tournament. Joel’s residency at MSG will end in July.