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Why are Billy Joel’s Fans Angry at CBS After Their Broadcast of the Star’s 100th Concert? Find Out
CBS recently broadcasted Billy Joel's 100th concert. However, fans are now expressing their anger at the channel over the short broadcast. Read on to know more!
Billy Joel was supposed to have a triumphant first on Sunday night, April 14. The Piano Man was headed to prime time for his first-ever broadcast network performance special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time, following fifty years in the music business. However, his broadcast was cut short by CBS.
Why did CBS cut short Billy Joel’s broadcast?
The event, which was supposed to air on CBS from 9 to 11 p.m., was announced before this year’s Super Bowl and taped on March 28 during Joel’s 100th performance at the storied New York City theatre. Unfortunately, the Joel concert’s airing was delayed due to the network’s live coverage of the Masters golf tournament. As a result, many viewers missed the show’s dramatic conclusion and were forced to switch to the local news.
Even worse, angry fans said in their messages that the screen blacked out right before the joyful conclusion of Joel’s iconic sing-along ballad from 1973, Piano Man.
One angry tweet began with an impolite, four-letter greeting to the Tiffany network, reading, “#BillyJoel #MSG #100 performance not only starts a half hour late, but then you shut off the last 3-4 minutes for local news to start at 1130? Are you serious? Terribly poor decision-making; you fucked up an event that had been publicized for MONTHS.”
The abrupt cut-away from the broadcast, which some X users compared to the infamous moment in 1968 when NBC jumped from a nail-biting New York Jets/Oakland Raiders football game to the children’s movie Heidi, had not been responded to by a CBS spokesperson as of press time.
"CBS had been pushing the Billy Joel concert special every two minutes for WEEKS. Thus, what better way to air it than to interrupt him mid-sentence, MID-PIANO MAN, and preempt it for thirty minutes? Come on, guys,” another irritated tweet read.
The same admirer said, “I love the network dearly and spent three wonderful years with CBS. But I am honestly baffled by this choice as a media professional.”
News anchor posts an apology
Joel is leaning into the song’s finale in the viral video of the moment, singing, ‘And the piano it sounds like a funfair/ And the microphone smells like a beer,’ over shots of MSG showgoers cheering and singing along as the screen abruptly switches to local news. In all fairness, the cut-off occurred close to the end of the last stanza, leaving only a few choruses and around a minute remaining.
As of right now, CBS has not released a statement. However, 10 Tampa Bay sports director Evan Closky, who attended The Last Play at Shea and grew up next to Billy Joel’s hometown wrote, “As a man who grew up right next to Billy Joel’s hometown, it was my duty to apologize to everyone about cutting off our telecast of Billy Joel tonight.”
Joel will perform twice more at MSG on April 26 and May 9, his home away from home, before embarking on a summer tour of baseball park appearances through November.
ALSO READ: Billy Joel's The 100th Concert Special: Date, Time, How To Watch, Streaming Details, And More
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