CBS’s ‘New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash’ Briefly Switched to ‘Matlock’

If 2025 felt like a nightmare from start to finish, CBS delivered one final twist with a glitchy New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.

The five-hour special featured some of the biggest names in country, from Jason Aldean to Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Dwight Yoakam, Bailey Zimmerman, and a change in the schedule that no one saw coming.  

The televised event Wednesday night, Dec. 31 went offline for roughly 12 minutes, according to various reports and scores of comments on social media, which the network covered by running an episode of Matlock.

According to Variety, the interruption occurred about 50 minutes into the show, as Lainey Wilson was mid-song. A CBS studio voice attributed “technical difficulties,” the broadcast cut to commercials, and an episode of Matlock filled the dead air.

When the CBS got its train back on the tracks, hosts Bert Kreischer and Hardy apologized, before “Redneck Woman” singer Gretchen Wilson took the stage.

Social media has been unforgiving. “What the f— are you guys doing,” writes Ryder on X. “Trying to watch the Nashville Big Bash and it’s jumping all over the place. Was watching Lainey Wilson perform and it froze then a news ad and then Matlock then back to ads. What the hell???”

Another user with the handle Wild About Musik writes, “What a huge mess up!!!”.

CBS has yet to issue a statement on the technical blunder, which beamed out from Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.

New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash was executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. The special was directed by Sandra Restrepo, and aired from 8p.m.-10 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. ET/PT on CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

As previously reported, the New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash official, in-person watch party was held at Luke Combs’ Category 10 in Nashville.

Watch snippets from the concert special below.