Graham Media's master control clowns screw over SNL 50th anniversary viewers on WDIV and KPRC

[MWmetalhead]

Pushing a couple buttons to accommodate a live program that is running 15 minutes past its scheduled time is too much work, I guess.

WDIV and KPRC viewers missed a Paul McCartney musical performance.

WDIV, of course, is the same station that failed to carry the first two seasons of the iconic series, and is also known for refusing to air Late Night with David Letterman in its customary time slot for a time in the 1980s.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/enter ... 927117007/

[SteveS]

Reminded me of the Billy Joel at MSG program that was cutoff by CBS in April and reaired in full the following Friday.

[MWmetalhead]

Clueless WDIV is trying to push viewers to Peacock to catch the musical performance their station failed to air, when in fact, it is available on YouTube for free.

[SolarMax]

"You can watch the full episode on Peacock."
No, I can't, and won't. Nor will probably most of your viewers, since we don't subscribe (nor want to subscribe) to Peacock.
Networks issue multiple red flags to affiliates when programming is running past scheduled time. It's not like they didn't know. This is the same kind of incompetent "technical issue" that causes WDIV to screw up occasional moves of "Wheel" and "Jeopardy" onto the 4.3 MeTV channel. The Graham stations that blew the SNL ending are switched from a not-local facility, a "hub" that serves as master control for multiple stations. Saves money, they say.
What they should do, but won't, is to air the missed segment on WDIV, or at least put it up as a clip on "ClickOnDetroit."

BTW, in 1975, channel 4 was WWJ-TV, owned by the Detroit News, which might explain why it didn't carry SNL. It became WDIV 1n 1978 with the ownership change to Post-Newsweek (now Graham).

[Rate This]

Another drip drip drip of quality decline. They have a new graphics package coming which partly looks like a 12 year old did it.

[BFSEsq]

I came here to try to figure out what happened. So this was a switching issue from master control. Geez. It was just because they didn't accommodate the show running late? What clowns. This is when everyone sees a quality decline now that things aren't handled locally.

If anything, just air the last 15 minutes after the end of the news! Or would that not be technically possible?

[mtburb]

WDIV and KPRC viewers missed a Paul McCartney musical performance.

As that article says, WSLS viewers also missed McCartney...and WSLS isn't even a legacy Graham station!

[MWmetalhead]

I was not previously familiar with that station, but that makes sense. That station, serving Roanoke and Lynchburg, VA, is a Graham-owned NBC affiliate.

[Rate This]

Here’s the apology letter from GM Bob Ellis they posted on their site…

Apparently they had prepared for an 1115 ending so they knew the thing would run long in the first place and had been told that by NBC on Friday.

I know the best way to address the error last night with the ending of the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary special is with you directly.

We sincerely apologize for cutting short the SNL special. This was not an intentional programming decision; it was simply human error, and we understand your disappointment. NBC had communicated to us Friday afternoon that the live show would run long -- with a scheduled end time of 11:15 p.m. We had our technical teams ready for this planned 15-minute overrun. When the show ran even later, we didn’t make the real-time adjustments, and that’s why the final 13 minutes were missed.


What you didn’t see included a performance by Sir Paul McCartney who sang a medley of three songs from The Beatles Abbey Road album. We also missed the on-stage goodbye led by Martin Short that included former cast members holding up a photo of Detroiter Gilda Radner.

Know we are working hard with NBC this morning to present an encore presentation of these moments as soon as we can. We’ll communicate that to you as soon as we know more.

We value these special moments in television history as much as you do, and we’re taking steps today to prevent similar technical issues in the future. We know this information doesn’t fix your viewing experience last night, but know we are doing everything in our power to make sure this type of thing doesn’t happen again.

Again, please accept my sincerest apology.

[MWmetalhead]

I admire the fact the station GM addressed the situation in an honest way and is working to "right" the wrong. The station could've simply brushed it under the rug. I'm glad they didn't do so.

[Rate This]

I admire the fact the station GM addressed the situation in an honest way and is working to "right" the wrong. The station could've simply brushed it under the rug. I'm glad they didn't do so.

This is the latest of several of these for various reasons like the buyouts last year. While it’s good they want to be honest it tells me somebody think they have a potential problem… given how things have gone since last summer they appear to have an actual fire there.

[radioandtventhusiast]

I'm glad WDIV apologized but this is just the latest example of cutting costs and how there are increasingly more technical difficulties because of that.

WNWO in Toledo has struggled to carry SNL without technical difficulties for quite a few years. Often WNWO will miss the timing for local breaks, causing the local breaks to start after the show returns from break, and the show will be again joined in progress. A bad example happened when Eddie Murphy came back to host 5 years ago. WNWO later deleted viewer comments.

Just on Saturday, CW13 in Toledo decided to go to local break during the NASCAR Xfinity Series opener at Daytona right after a caution right as the green flag flew with close to 10 laps to go. All the local commercials aired and the race was joined in progress. Nothing significant happened, but it still stinks.

I can't even begin to talk about the various technical problems that plague Toledo radio stations in the era of corporate radio, but that's for a different subject.

[BFSEsq]

From that letter from GM Bob Ellis:

"Know we are working hard with NBC this morning to present an encore presentation of these moments as soon as we can."

Technically speaking, how does this work? WDIV never even received the network feed at all? They can't access it so they can't rerun it? I guess I'm surprised they don't have access to the unaired portion of the show.

[MWmetalhead]

NBC needs to grant permission for WDIV to re-air the program.

[ecsuser]

I watched the Youtube clip. Not airing McCartney's performance was a public service. A shame about the missed Gilda tribute however.