Comcast Apologizes For Porn Problem

Disney has asked for assurances that there will be no repeat of the incident in which a sex scene from an adult film inadvertently aired during Disney Channel kids show Handy Manny on a Comcast system in New Jersey Tuesday (May 1).

Comcast has taken responsibility for the incident. According to Comcast spokesman Fred DeAndrea, the issue was signal bleed from adult content that Comcast carries. It happened at about 9:30 Tuesday morning. He would not say how many subscribers were affected or how long the adult material aired, but he did say the company apologizes to its customers. "We have thoroughly investigated the incident, uncovered the cause" [he would not elaborate] and have already put in additional procedures to prevent such an incident from occurring again," he told B&C.He also said the company had not received a "significant volume" of complaints about the incident.. That should make the Disney folks breathe easier.

"We value the trust that parents have in Disney Channel and our programming," said Disney in a statement, "and certainly take [Tuesday's] regrettable programming disruption in New Jersey extremely seriously. 

"We have asked Comcast for assurances that the appropriate measures are being taken to prevent such offensive incidents from occurring in the future."

The FCC had no comment on the incident, with a spokesman pointing out it was a cable channel. The FCC has no authority to regulate indecency on cable.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.