Comcast is examining whether a malicious attack is behind the interruption of its Super Bowl broadcast Sunday by a pornographic film in some areas of Tucson. The interruption, which lasted less than 30 seconds, affected customers watching the company’s standard definition coverage but not high-definition.
Comcast asked the FCC and local authorities to investigate. An initial review showed that the company’s technical systems functioned properly at the time of the incident, suggesting that someone deliberately interrupted the broadcast rather than a glitch.
“We are mortified by the incident and we apologize to our customers,” a Comcast spokeswoman said. The company will likely issue credits to customers who were affected, though the amount remains to be determined.
The TV station that supplied the signal was KVOA, which said it provided Cox with a feed via a fiber-optic line, which Cox subsequently sent to Comcast, also via fiber. KVOA said that only Comcast customers saw the porn and that customers of other operators, like DirecTV Group and Cox, as well as over-the-air viewers, received “clean feeds.”
The Comcast spokeswoman said it was not immediately apparent how or where the breach occurred. Cable signals pass through several transmission facilities, including out to an operator’s local offices and to customers' homes. This is the first time the company is aware of its signal being tampered with in this way, the Comcast spokeswoman said. (info from The Wall Street Journal)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment