OK conspiracy buffs, speculate on the tech glitch here: Porn interrupts Super Bowl broadcast

[havocmom]

What went wrong? I am not tech-savvy enough to figure this out on only one cup of coffee. Perhaps some of you can speculate on possible causes and 'splain this one to me.

Asked Havocdad if there had been any 'wardrobe mal-functions' during the half-time. 'Nope, none at all. The Boss remained dressed' My woman's intution was tingling though.

Reading the Az Daily Star online this morning, I find there was a wardrobe malfunction for some Comcast subscribers in Tucson, but it was toward the end of the game.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/278448.php

Officials at Comcast said about 30 seconds from Club Jenna, an adult cable television channel, were shown on the local Super Bowl telecast. The company was still working Sunday night to figure out how it happened.
Comcast had "no idea" at the time it happened how the porn may have gotten into its feed, said Kelle Maslyn, a company spokeswoman.
The Star newsroom was flooded with calls from irate viewers who said that the porn cut into the game with less than three minutes left to play, just after Arizona Cardinals player Larry Fitzgerald scored on a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to put the team in the lead.
Callers said that the clip showed a woman unzipping a man's pants, followed by a graphic act between the two.

Somebody is some control room was watching a different feed and bumped a switch? Some Desperate Housewife had enough of competing with sports on TV? What could have happened? And who ends up with a bill from the FCC?

[peekaloo]

1. so it happened right after the Cards went "ahead"?

:hide:

I blame Springsteen for his pelvic camera bumping!

[liberal N proud]

2. Steelers fan at Comcast?

Or disgruntled employee?

[peace13]

3. I smell PETA!

Just kidding!

[xenussister]

4. Maybe someone's a fan of "Used Cars"

...that hilarious movie from the 80's. A couple of hackers break into a speech by Jimmy Carter to show a racy local car commercial, complete with bouncing bare boobs. That's exactly what I thought of when I heard about this.

[MindPilot]

8. I was thinking that very same thing -- that scene still cracks me up

"What have we here?! A 1978 Lincoln Town Car for $12,000?! That price is TOO FUCKING HIGH!"

KA-BOOM!

"We blew the livin' shit out of that high-priced motherfucker didn't we?"

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[a kennedy]

28. Oh my gawd..........that was hysterical.....just loved that movie.

:rofl:

[DCKit]

5. Teh Jackson Family Evil Empire strikes again!!! n/t

[NashVegas]

6. Automated Tasks

Dumb people down in the first place, and, because it's something done with a computer, you have to hunt down the solution rather than just hit one red-lit button.

(My guess: someone at the board had both monitors on, got excited when the touchdown happened and hit something they shouldn't have. It could have been a hack, but I doubt it.)

[havocmom]

7. Kinda what I figured too - maybe person on the board had friends in for the game.

Brought to mind a glitch a couple decades ago, some city in Canada. Guy in some control room was watching one thing and bumped a button that sent that program (Miss Nude Universe) out on the signal showing Sesame Street.

[NashVegas]

9. Oopsie!

[guitar man]

10. exactly

If I'm not mistaken, I think Comcast uses the same type of automation that I was running on my last gig in television master control. I can think of a couple ways such an error could occur depending on the particular switcher and routing options. :P

[Javaman]

11. Well OBVIOUSLY someone in the control room was a Cardinals fan

and wanted to celebrate! LOL

[Poiuyt]

12. Notice that the viewers weren't irate that porn was being shown, just that it interrupted the game

at a crucial point.

[havocmom]

15. checking the link, there were some complaints about kids viewing

someone in the news story was pretty annoyed that a grand daughter got more sex ed than was age appropriate ;)

[Poiuyt]

19. They were probably getting it mixed up with the GoDaddy ad

[Javaman]

13. simple questions...

1) did that station also carry the feed for Jenna's show?

2) if not why was it part of their downlink?

3) if they didn't carry it and it was in their downlink, why were they monitoring it?

but honestly; sex and football, only a good sandwich would make that fantasy complete!

:rofl:

[havocmom]

16. can't answer; not familiar with Comcast service in Tucson

And my brother-in-law (who IS in Tucson) is re-thinking his cable service provider.... which is Cox ;)

[LiberalHeart]

14. I have an air-tight alibi.

[cobalt1999]

17. What conspiracy theories will propose is that...

Porn is always played subliminally during football games which is why so many men enjoy the game. Someone just screwed up by playing the porn in the foreground.

[NashVegas]

21. There Was Nothing Subliminal About The Fireworks Going Off In Springsteen's Set

Not at all :)

[havocmom]

22. LOL & sadly, I think that might be a realistic theory

:rofl:

[Smith_3]

18. Tyler Durden did it. nt

[Greyhound]

20. The conspiracy most likely causing this was the one that fired most of the

people that knew what they were doing and replacing them with poorly trained tool monkeys.

[havocmom]

23. Seems like a logical assumption. Replace an experienced worker

(who has climbed some rungs on the wage scale step-ladder)with a newbie that got the keys to the console but not enough training....

Most of us have seen it happen up close.

[Greyhound]

25. Before my chronic unemployment, I talked to the "new generation of programmers"

every day that had absolutely no idea how the programs they were writing worked at the machine level, and therefore no idea why it didn't work. They carry around a handful of certifications that only certify that they paid for some test preparation and passed the tests showing they know how to use this or that tool.

[guitar man]

26. either a newbie

or noboody. :(

with the advent of automated switching, having someone manning the control rooms 24/7 is no longer a necessity. Before, where every switch had to be made manually(from program to commercials and back etc), now it can all be loaded onto a server and set up to run from a computerized automated playlist. I know I will never forget the first time I watched a computer take over the board and do the job I loved :(
That's what prompted me to take a management job when it was offered.

As a result, you would probably be amazed to know how much television you watch where there is nobody manning the control room at the other end. Operators can run one shift to get the dubs done and the servers loaded up and unmanned the rest of the time. As a result, the quality of the end product to consumers often suffers quite a bit. :(

[pokerfan]

24. Not an accident

in my opinion, after seeing the clip which involved a woman unzipping a dude's pants and followed by the dude waving his penis around. It just seemed as though it was arranged for maximum shock effect.

[guitar man]

27. Uh Oh

Apparently, this isn't the first time Cumcast has screwed up. :blush:

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/comcast-sorry-for-accidentally-showing-porn-footage-on-kid-tv.html

[Evoman]

29. What better time than the Superbowl for Arby's to advertise their new Cockmeat Sandwiches (tm)?