It’s already international news by now. (See stories in the Times of London and French wire service AFP for instance.) Just as the Arizona Cardinals were being bested in the final minutes of the Super Bowl on Sunday, fans in Tucson were interrupted by about 30 seconds of hardcore pornography.
The broadcast was seen by Comcast customers who were watching
Tucson’s NBC affiliate, KVOA-TV (Channel 4), and local media outlets
there were apparently flooded with phone calls by shocked viewers. Now,
Comcast says the problem was on its end, with an employee inserting the
clip maliciously, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The newspaper also reports the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Arizona is looking into the matter.
The interruption may have sounded familiar to folks here in the
Phoenix area. About two years ago, a cable news special hosted by Tom
Brokaw was broken up
by a series of similar pornographic clips. (I know, because I answered
some of the calls from upset viewers at the East Valley Tribune after
the clip aired.) The clip, according to the Florida-based ION Media
Networks, was “sabotage” by one of its Phoenix area employees, who was
eventually fired.
Of course, the interruption of Brokaw didn’t draw the same type
of international attention as the interruption of the Super Bowl has.
Also related: KPNX regrets car-crash sound effect during coverage (East Valley Tribune)