Porn interrupts Super Bowl TV coverage
Arizona fans tuning in for climax of American football season get 30-second view of Club Jenna cable channel
The Pittsburgh Steelers (in white and yellow) and the Arizona Cardinals in action during Superbowl XLIII. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Since Janet Jackson's bejewelled right nipple popped out during the half-time show at the 2004 Super Bowl, the term "wardrobe malfunction" has become part of the rich history of American football's showpiece event.
Yesterday, as this year's clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals neared a thrilling climax, TV viewers in Tuscon, Arizona, witnessed an intimate exposure of a completely different order.
Shortly after 7.30pm, with less than three minutes to play in a tightly fought final, the Cardinals had taken the lead with a crucial touchdown. Fans watching in Arizona would have been forgiven for scenting a victory for their team against the odds. Then the pictures from Tampa disappeared.
Instead, viewers in the Tuscon area were astonished to see a woman unzipping a man's trousers to reveal "full male nudity" followed by what was described as "a graphic act" between the couple. Somehow, the feed from Super Bowl XLIII had been mixed up with a 30-second excerpt from Club Jenna, an adult cable TV channel featuring Jenna Jameson, one of America's most famous porn actresses.
"I just figured it was another commercial until I looked up," Cora King, of Marana, told the Arizona Daily Star newspaper. "Then he did his little dance with everything hanging out."
Another viewer, Jeanene Piek, said she was outraged that her granddaughter had seen the clip. "I was in a state of shock. I am totally disgusted," she said.
The Tucson-based KVOA-TV said it was "dismayed and disappointed" at the interruption, which affected viewers taking a cable feed from Comcast, a cable television company.
"KVOA will investigate what happened and make sure our viewers get answers," said the company president, Gary Nielsen. "When the NBC feed of the Super Bowl was transmitted from KVOA to local cable providers and through over-the-air antennas there was no pornographic material."
Once the pictures from the Super Bowl returned, Cardinals fans did not get the climax they were looking for. The Steelers pipped them 27-23, scoring with only 35 seconds left on the clock.
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