Billy Joel Concert Special Will Re-Air on CBS After End Cut Off

CBS is apologizing for a timing mixup that cut off the final moments of a Billy Joel concert special for many viewers Sunday night.

Viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones missed the final two minutes of Billy Joel: The 100th — Live at Madison Square Garden when the program cut abruptly to local news telecasts. Joel was singing the final verse of “Piano Man” when the screen went black and then cut to local newscasts.

CBS blamed a timing error for the snafu and says it will re-air the special on Friday.

“A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones,” the network said in a statement. “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 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.”

The special, initially scheduled for 9 p.m. ET Sunday, was pushed back by about a half-hour in the eastern half of the country after the network’s coverage of the Masters golf tournament ran into primetime. A CBS News special report also aired before the start of 60 Minutes.

Social media reaction to the mixup was, unsurprisingly, not kind to CBS. One representative post on X rewrote the chorus of “Piano Man” as, “Sing us a half-song, you’re the Piano Man/Sing us a half-song tonight/’Cause we all heard part of a melody/And CBS producers aren’t bright.”

Billy Joel: The 100th was taped in March and marked the singer-songwriter’s 100th consecutive performance at Madison Square Garden.