Fox Television "apologizes" for 'American Idol 6' finale broadcast overrun

Fox has apologized for Wednesday night's broadcast of American Idol's sixth season finale extending beyond its scheduled two-hour run, Broadcasting & Cable reported Thursday, with the network offering the somewhat lame excuse that it was due to the finale airing live. However the mea culpa no doubt comes as little condolence to viewers who recorded the finale using a DVR, as they missed 17-year-old Glendale, AZ-native Jordin Sparks being announced as the youngest winner in Idol's history, which occurred at 10:03PM ET.

"We're sorry that DVR users may have missed the conclusion of the American Idol broadcast," a spokesperson for Fox said in a statement, according to Broadcasting & Cable. "It was always our intention to bring the show in on time, but just as with any live sports, variety, awards or entertainment event, there is no way to absolutely guarantee that the show will end exactly on the hour. Fox and the producers apologize to those viewers who were inconvenienced."

While Fox may have planned on the finale ending at 10PM ET, that was not the case as the broadcast was filled with filler and didn't actually conclude until 10:09PM ET. The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that TiVo -- one of the more popular providers of DVR systems in the U.S. -- got complaints from "disgruntled subscribers" following the Idol 6 finale and issued a statement that basically warned viewers to learn from Fox's mistake. "

At TiVo we're huge American Idol fans too, and some of us also missed the last few minutes," TiVo spokeswoman Katie Ho wrote in an e-mail, according to The Times. "Had we known the program would run over the allotted time, we definitely would have alerted our subscribers to pad a few extra minutes of recording time, as insurance... Be it the Oscars, the Grammys, assorted sporting events, or American Idol, some events run long."

This is not the first time Idol's live finale has overrun it's scheduled broadcast. Last year's fifth season Idol finale that saw Taylor Hicks take home the crown also ran over by four minutes and the show's fourth and third season finales also ran over slightly, according to The Times.