Despite some online stories that claimed KNBC cut into NBC’s Olympic programming to air a car chase, the station didn’t. But it did devote its late news to the chase.
KNBC’s 11 p.m. newscast aired at 10 p.m. last night, to accommodate the Olympics. As soon as Mike Tirico signed off from South Korea, the newscast began coverage of the high speed pursuit that ended with a pickup truck driving into a subway tunnel.
A KNBC spokesperson says the confusion might have come for viewers because the cable guides may not have reflected the scheduled program change for the newscast.
Viewers took to Twitter, unaware that the news was on when KNBC took helicopter footage of the chase.
ARE YOU ACTUALLY INTERRUPTING THE OLYMPICS FOR A CAR CHASE, @NBCLA?!?!
— Sean Mandell (@SeanMandell) February 21, 2018
KNBC cut away from the chase when the suspect went into the tunnel. The suspect was eventually apprehended.