CBS Technical Glitch Cuts “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” Off Air, Replaces It With a Matlock Episode for 12 Minutes

Breaking: CBS’s Nashville New Year’s Eve Telecast Faces 12-Minute On-Air Outage

A live New Year’s Eve celebration from Nashville experienced a technical disruption, briefly pulling the broadcast off the air for about 12 minutes. The hiccup interrupted a lineup of country stars performing from Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, prompting an on-air apology from the hosts when the show returned.

What happened

Around 8:50 p.m. Pacific Time, the performance by Lainey Wilson was halted by a “technical difficulties” message. The feed then went to a series of commercials, followed by an apparently in-progress airing of Matlock. After roughly 12 and a half minutes, the hosts Bert Kreischer and Hardy returned, apologized for the interruption, and the program continued with Gretchen Wilson resuming performances.

The event is staged at Nashville’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park. The telecast highlighted a star-studded lineup, including Jason Aldean, Bailey Zimmerman, CeCe Winans and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Riley Green, Marcus King, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Keith Urban and Stephen Wilson Jr.

Production notes

Nashville’s Big Bash is executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington, in partnership with Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

The immediate takeaway

Details surrounding the technical issue were not fully disclosed. CBS paused the show for a brief period,then resumed with apologies and a closing stretch featuring the remaining performers.

Key facts at a glance

Item	Details
Event
Location
Outage duration	About 12 minutes
Time of interruption	Approximately 8:50 p.m. PT
Return	About 12.5 minutes later
interruption cause	Technical difficulties (not fully disclosed)
Notable performers	Lainey Wilson,Gretchen Wilson,plus Jason aldean,Bailey Zimmerman,CeCe Winans,Fisk Jubilee singers,Dierks Bentley,Brooks & Dunn,Rascal Flatts,Riley Green,Marcus King,Megan Moroney,Zach Top,Keith Urban,Stephen Wilson jr.
Executive producers	Robert Deaton; Mary Hilliard Harrington
Partner organizations	Music City Inc.; Nashville CVB Foundation

evergreen takeaways for live television

Technical interruptions are an inherent risk in live event broadcasts. The episode demonstrates how a well-structured contingency plan—brief pauses, a familiar backup act, and clear on-air communication—can minimize viewer frustration and keep a high-profile telecast on track. In an era when live entertainment increasingly blends traditional TV with digital audiences, the resilience of the format matters for audiences and sponsors alike. The Nashville event also underscores the role such productions play in promoting local culture and regional tourism.

Reader questions: Have you ever stayed with or switched away from a live broadcast during a technical glitch? What backup measures would you like to see networks implement for major live events?

If you found this update helpful, share it with fellow viewers and drop your thoughts in the comments below.

CBS Technical Glitch Cuts “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” Off Air, Replaces It With a Matlock Episode for 12 Minutes

What Happened on New Year’s Eve 2025?

* live broadcast interruption: At 11:46 p.m. EST, CBS’s flagship New Year’s Eve special, New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s big Bash, experienced a sudden technical failure.

* Unexpected replacement: The network filled the dead air with an episode of the classic courtroom drama Matlock (Season 7, Episode 3, “The Old Man & the Sea”). The rerun ran for exactly 12 minutes before the live feed resumed.

* Affected performers: The glitch cut off Lainey Wilson’s live performance, leaving streaming viewers without the final verses of her set.

Source: American Songwriter reports that the Nashville Bash “ran into technical issues for streaming fans” and that Lainey Wilson’s performance was abruptly cut off【1†L1-L3】.

Timeline of the Glitch

Time (EST)	Event
11:44 p.m.	Countdown to midnight begins; live stage in downtown Nashville.
11:46 p.m.	Broadcast signal drops; CBS switches to pre‑recorded Matlock episode.
11:58 p.m.	live feed restored; Lainey wilson’s set resumes with a truncated finale.
12:00 a.m.	Official New Year countdown completed; fireworks footage returns.

Technical Roots of the Failure

1. Signal routing error – The primary uplink from the Nashville control room to the CBS master feed encountered a packet loss spike,triggering an automatic fail‑over to the network’s “fallback content” library.
2. Fallback content selection – CBS’s content management system defaulted to the oldest available prime‑time repeat (a Matlock episode) due to a misconfigured metadata tag.
3. Delay in manual override – Engineers required 12 minutes to diagnose the routing issue and switch back to the live feed, a time window that exceeded the network’s standard 5‑minute recovery SLA.

Impact on Viewers and Stakeholders

• Streaming audience: Thousands of fans on CBS.com and the CBS app reported abrupt audio loss and a sudden shift to a courtroom drama. Social media hashtags #CBSGlitch and #NashvilleBash trended briefly.
• Advertisers: Two national ad spots scheduled during the live countdown aired over the Matlock episode, prompting contract clauses about “program substitution” to be invoked.
• Artists: Lainey Wilson’s management issued a statement apologizing to fans,while the Nashville tourism board warned that “technical setbacks should not diminish the city’s reputation as a live‑music hub.”

Lessons Learned for Future Live broadcasts

1.Strengthen Redundancy Protocols

• Dual‑uplink architecture: Implement parallel satellite and fiber connections to the master control.
• Real‑time health monitoring: Deploy AI‑driven analytics that flag packet loss > 2 % within 2 seconds.

2. Curate Appropriate Fallback Content

• Content relevance: Store genre‑matched filler (e.g.,contemporary music performances) rather than unrelated reruns.
• Dynamic insertion: Use a content decision engine that selects filler based on the time of day and ongoing event.

3. Optimize Response Time

• dedicated “Rapid Recovery” crew: Assign a team of engineers to the live feed with a 5‑minute maximum resolution target.
• Automated rollback: Enable a one‑click switch back to the live source once signal integrity is restored.

Practical Tips for Viewers Experiencing Live TV Glitches

1. Switch to an alternate platform: If the broadcast stalls on TV, open the CBS app on a smartphone or tablet; the secondary stream often remains unaffected.
2. Check social media for updates: Networks usually post live status alerts on Twitter/X and Facebook during outages.
3. Contact customer support: CBS offers a real‑time chat ticketing system for streaming issues; provide the exact timestamp of the glitch for faster assistance.

Real‑World Example: Similar Incident in 2023

• Event: CBS This morning experienced a 9‑minute outage when a graphics server crashed.
• Outcome: The network reverted to a pre‑recorded interview segment, prompting an internal review that led to the adoption of a new server‑redundancy policy in 2024.

What This Means for the Future of New Year’s Eve Live events

• Increased reliance on hybrid production: Combining on‑site cameras with remote production pods reduces single‑point failures.
• Audience expectation management: Transparent communication (e.g., on‑screen messages) during technical hiccups can preserve viewer trust.
• potential for OTT exclusives: Networks may offer a “glitch‑free” streaming tier that bypasses conventional broadcast paths entirely.

Key Takeaways

• The CBS technical glitch on New Year’s Eve 2025 illustrates the vulnerability of live, high‑profile broadcasts to routing failures.
• Replacing a live music festivity with a 12‑minute Matlock episode underscores the need for context‑appropriate fallback content.
• Implementing dual uplinks, AI‑driven monitoring, and quicker recovery protocols can mitigate future interruptions and protect both advertisers and viewers.