Entertainment

NBC halts Olympics for "Animal Practice," angers viewers

August 13, 2012 / 3:31 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Joanna Garcia Swisher as Dorothy Crane, left, and Justin Kirk portraying George Coleman in a scene from the pilot episode of "Animal Practice." AP Photo/NBC,Neil Jacobs

(CBS/AP) Many viewers were upset after NBC decided to cut away from its Olympics closing ceremony coverage to squeeze in a commercial-free preview of its new show "Animal Practice" before returning to The Who's performance at the closing ceremony.

Pictures: London Olympics Closing Ceremony
Read More: "Animal Practice" gets boost from Olympics on NBC

NBC Olympics host Bob Costas told viewers, "We'll be back from Olympic Stadium in about an hour for the London closing party featuring The Who. But stay tuned now for a full episode of 'Animal Practice,' the new NBC comedy presented commercial free."

"Animal Practice" aired at 11 p.m. Sunday night, followed by local news. Then Costas returned at midnight to finish with an eight-minute medley by The Who.

Twitter lit up with complaints. Disgruntled viewers used the trending topic #NBCfail on Twitter to express their anger.

Here's what some viewers had to say:

Wow, NBC cut Muse, Kate Bush and freaking Ray Davies out of their broadcast. Oh, and The Who? In an hour after Animal Practice. #NBCfail
-- Francois Marchand (@FMarchandVS) August 13, 2012

"Gee, I can't wait for the #ClosingCeremonies to be over so I can watch Animal Practice" - No One Ever. #NBCFail
-- Stacey (@BookSavvy) August 13, 2012

I think NBC has managed to become even less popular than Congress. #NBCfail
-- Nina L. Diamond (@ninatypewriter) August 13, 2012

More from CBS News