’30 Rock’ Reunion Only Premiered On Top 10 TV Markets, Excluding Large Numbers Of Americans

Many Americans will be excluded from the original airing of the 30 Rock reunion on Thursday. Some affiliate groups that operate various NBC stations around the country have chosen not to air the special, leaving Americans outside of the top ten television markets unable to view the special when it first airs.

New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas Fort-Worth make up the top five television markets. So for many Americans outside of these big cities, they will have to wait to watch the reunion.

While many Americans will be unable to watch the reunion when it first airs, they will have the opportunity to watch it in the future. On Friday, the special will be rebroadcast at 9 p.m. ET/PT across NBCU-owned platforms: USA Network, Bravo, E!, Oxygen, SYFY and CNBC. The special will also be available for streaming on Peacock, a new platform, at the same time.

The stations refusing to air the special at its scheduled time are opting out as they see the reunion as a promotional push for the Peacock streaming platform. They don’t want to lose viewers to Peacock or other similar streaming platforms.

Original cast members from 30 Rock, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer will pick up their roles from the beloved comedy that ended in 2013. The reunion will serve to introduce NBCUniversal’s programming slate for the 2020-21 television season instead of a traditional upfront presentation.