We sincerely apologize for cutting the SNL special short. This was not an intentional programming decision; it was simply human error, and we understand your disappointment. – 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 the SNL special short. 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 10:15 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, which included former cast members holding up a photo of Gilda Radner.
Please know we are working with NBC this morning to present an encore presentation of these moments as soon as possible. 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 are taking immediate steps to prevent similar technical issues from occurring in the future. We know this information will not fix last night’s viewing experience, but we are doing everything in our power to prevent this from happening again.
Again, please accept my sincerest apology.
Phil Lane
KPRC VP & General Manager
Click here to view SNL’s full playlist of videos from the 50th Anniversary special.
