

The network was initially silent but eventually made a statement that no broadcast signal intrusions had occurred. Viewers were baffled and frightened by the cryptic message. The voice had an American accent, most likely southern, and it repeated the same phrase over and over for six minutes: “Jesus Christ, help us all Lord.” The video for the program continued as normal, but the soundtrack suddenly changed to a single voice. In 2007, viewers in Australia were watching a Canadian documentary about air disasters, entitled Mayday, when the program was suddenly interrupted. A few parents reported that their children had begun repeating the adult lyrics.Īlthough the radio station made attempts to identify the culprit, the radio pirate responsible for The Winker’s Song remains at large. Some listeners thought the joke was hilarious, but others were offended by the song’s content. This catchy melody, a song about masturbation, caused quite a stir when it was repeatedly broadcast. Instead of using the stolen airtime to broadcast a message, this wonton criminal chose instead to play an old tune: The Winker’s Song. In 2017, a local radio station in Nottinghamshire, England had its broadcast hijacked 8 times over the course of a single month. Sometimes, hackers jam signals just for the fun of it. Not all broadcast signal intrusions have the type of lofty goals that prompted Captain Midnight to take to the airwaves. Broadcast Signal Intrusions: The Winker’s Song Youtube
CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION LICENSE
He was placed on probation for one year, paid a $5,000 fine, and had his amateur radio license revoked. He was arrested and eventually pled guilty to illegally operating a satellite uplink transmitter. Unfortunately for Captain Midnight, he was never able to target other networks. He spent around 5 minutes explaining why he believed that the prices were unfair and threatening to continue targeting other signals so that his message would be taken seriously. MacDougall hacked into the HBO signal broadcasting to much of the eastern half of the United States to spread an important message.Īccording to MacDougall, operating under the alias of “Captain Midnight,” he was tired of the high prices being demanded for premium channels like HBO and Showtime. In 1986, an electrical engineer named John R. Unlike many of the broadcast signal intrusions on this list, the responsibility for the Captain Midnight interruptions was never much of a mystery. Broadcast Signal Intrusions: Captain Midnight He was punished with 3 years of probation and a fine of $1,000. The pornographic interlude was the work of a Cox Communications employee who served as the company’s Comcast liaison. Shortly after the game aired, the culprit was discovered.

The issue only affected viewers who were watching the game through their Comcast cable subscriptions, but the incident still resulted in a huge public outcry. An adult film played for around 40 seconds before the broadcast signal intrusions were disrupted.

In 2009, viewers in Arizona were shocked when the Super Bowl was suddenly interrupted by pornographic footage. Typically, around 100 million people tune in to watch the big game. Broadcast Signal Intrusions: Pornographic Super Bowl Tech HiveĮach year, the NFL broadcasts the US’s most popular sporting event: the Super Bowl. There’s no doubt that radio and television broadcasts hold a huge captive audience, so what better way for unscrupulous individuals to get their own messages out than by hijacking the airwaves? 10. Since the late 1970s, there have been several notable cases of broadcast signal intrusions that have left authorities seriously worried.
