As one who has been working in television for over 20 years I can confidently say that this was not a mistake. A client buys time - whether its a 30 second commercial or 30 minute info-mercial. A contract is signed, and the fees paid. The sales person writes up the work order, the programming department schedules it, the traffic department places it and the operations department puts it on the air.
If someone “conveniently” forgot - they should be fired and the campaign should be “comped” at least one run of the show before tomorrow.
Thanks for the insight.
I’m an ex-broadcaster also. This is as deliberate as it comes.