CBS Apologizes After Billy Joel's CBS Concert Cut Short — Here's What Happened

CBS didn't appear to be in the mood for a melody on Sunday, April 14.

Near the end of the highly-anticipated special The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time, the network abruptly cut away to local news as Billy Joel was singing the final chorus of his iconic song "Piano Man." The concert's unceremonious ending left viewers fuming — and they took to social media to express their anger.

One person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), "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."

Another user added, "WTF — CBS New York of all places!!😠... You cut off the ending of the Billy Joel 100th show right at the ending of Piano Man!! Where's the end of the show??" While a third chimed in, "Are you kidding me @CBS ??? You advertise the Billy Joel 100th Madison Square Garden concert for WEEKS. And you delay it and then cut it off during PIANO MAN to broadcast the news??? You can't be serious with this!!! 😡 #BillyJoel100 #BillyJoel."

As for why the special was cut short, the answer is simple: the concert had a late start time. CBS aired the 2024 Masters Tournament earlier in the evening, and when it ran over, it pushed the start of Joel's concert back by 30 minutes. This in turn led CBS to cut away to local news as the broadcast spilled over into the 11:00 EST time slot.

There is some good news: CBS has apologized for the snafu and will be airing The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in full on April 19th at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

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In a statement shared by the Piano Man himself on X, CBS said, "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 9 p.m. ET/PT.”

During the show, Joel spoke about why the New York City venue is so special to him.

"We play a lot bigger places. We play similar arenas, but this is The Garden," Joel told the audience. "I first came here when I was a little boy. I think I was about 4, 5 years old. My parents brought me to the circus and the star that year was Gene Autry. He had a big hit with 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.' "

CBS first announced the special during the Super Bowl, and it was filmed on March 28 when the legendary singer performed his 100th show at Madison Square Garden.

For those who can't wait until April 19th to see Joel's "Piano Man" finale in full, the concert special is streaming in full on Paramount+ now.