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Billy Joel fans were not exactly feelin’ alright after CBS abruptly ended the singer’s concert special in the middle of one of his most famous songs.
The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time, which documented Joel’s 100th consecutive performance at the iconic New York City venue, aired on CBS on Sunday night (April 14). While the network spent weeks advertising the highly anticipated event, things didn’t go as smoothly as fans would’ve hoped.
To begin, the concert was delayed by extended coverage of the final round of The Masters, a golf tournament. Then, to make things worse, CBS cut to the local news right in the middle of Joel singing “Piano Man” toward the end of the concert, leaving fans infuriated.
“Dear @CBS, Fuck off,” one wrote on X. “#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 11:30? Are you serious. Absolutely pathetic decision making, on an event that’s been advertised for MONTHS, and you fuck it up.”
Another added, “CBS has been promoting the Billy Joel concert special every two minutes for WEEKS. So what better way to air it than to preempt it for a half hour and the cut him off MID-PIANO MAN? C’mon guys.”
A third fumed, “CBS ruins the Billy Joel tribute. He sells out 100 shows at MSG, has a set list for the show but CBS thinks it can do better and edits the order of the songs then cuts ‘Piano Man’ off to go to local news and commercials. Complete BS…”
Evan Closky, the sports director of 10 Tampa Bay, offered an apology to upset viewers on behalf of his news station.
“We Turned the Lights Back On too soon,” he wrote. “As a man who grew up right next to Billy Joel’s hometown, who went to The Last Play at Shea, it was my duty to apologize to everyone about cutting off our telecast of Billy Joel tonight. (Not to get into the weeds, but there was a special report after the Masters and it wasn’t accounted for by the powers that be beyond this building).”
Annoyed that Billy Joel: The 100th Live at Madison Square Garden got cut short during “Piano Man” last night? We get it. Luckily, the entire concert special is streaming on Paramount+.
Paramount+ offers a seven-day free trial for new users, so you’ll be able to watch “Piano Man” in full, plus the rest of the special whenever you want.
Rex Smith, an anchor at a Fort Wayne station, said, “I apologize to the people who were enjoying Billy Joel singing on TV then all of a sudden had to see my face. I’d have picked Billy Joel over me, too. I’m not even the Rex Smith who is the famous singer/actor.”
He added, “Also for the record, we have no idea why that happened that way. I’m sure it will be looked into.”
CBS later released a statement apologizing for the gaff, revealing the network will reair the concert on Friday, April 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
“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 read. “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 9:00PM ET/PT.”
The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time is currently streaming on Paramount+.
