Big Island, Maui fans get replay of ‘Idol’
Problems at Oceanic cut the first showing; affected viewers on Oahu will miss out
There will be rerun relief for "American Idol" fans, but only on Maui and the Big Island, while "Lost" fans can find their own personal rerun online.
Equipment failure at an Oceanic Time Warner Cable facility Wednesday night caused 24 minutes of dead air for about 95,000 subscribers on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island during the season finales of the two hit shows, as well as about 60 percent of the cable company's channels. On Oahu the interruption affected customers in the Kalama Valley area.
Kyle Funasaki, marketing director for KHON-TV, said the station and Oceanic Time Warner Cable agreed, with permission from the Fox television network and the Screen Actors Guild, to re-air the Taylor Hicks-crowning grand finale of "American Idol."
It will be shown Sunday night, from 7 to 9:07 p.m., on Oceanic's Channel 78, part of its basic cable service.
But the re-telecast will be only for Maui and Big Island Oceanic customers because "Hawaii 78 is controlled by island," said Norman Santos, vice president of operations for Oceanic. Because of technical constraints, Oceanic cannot isolate Kalama Valley on Oahu.
Joe McNamara, KHON president and general manager, expressed regret that Oceanic customers in Kalama Valley would not receive the rebroadcast.
"Lost" fans do not have to wait for a rerun of the finale, as ABC has been offering free online re-screenings of a few of its hit shows since the beginning of this month.
The network offers free replays of recent shows, including "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Alias" and "Commander in Chief," via its Web site. Several episodes of each and the entire season of "Alias" are available.
"I don't think many people know about it," said Melinda Butler, a viewer on Oahu. "ABC has only been doing that since the beginning of this month."
Industry publications reveal that 3 million replays were streamed from the ABC Web site between May 1 and 19.
"It's not the same as watching it on your TV, but you can come close if you set it to full-screen or connect the computer/laptop to the TV with something like a DVI cable," Butler said.
Watching the "American Idol" grand finale recap on the "Idol" Web site can be an exercise in frustration, depending on one's computer setup, due to video and audio loading times and other technical reasons. The recap is, as indicated, not the entire show, but it contains the magic moment of the naming of the new Idol.
The recap does not contain the duets between "Idol" contestants and major recording industry figures.