Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.

Method of intrusion

For analog stations it is relatively easy to break into the transmission network. All that is needed is to determine the frequency used in the studio-to-transmitter link, then generate a signal at the same frequency from a position near the transmitter site. The input stage of a cheap video sender can produce the right kind of signal. A low-power microwave signal generator or a home-made equivalent from easily available components provides the signal (which is pointed at the receiving dish antenna). Most larger stations encrypt their signal, in which case one would just jam the signal as is the case with digital. Most TV and radio stations are extremely vulnerable, but lack of knowledge has kept this from being a problem.

Punishments for violations

Laws on signal hijacking differ by country.

United States

According to the Federal Communications Commission, the original penalties of signal hijacking were $100,000 in fines and/or one year in prison until late 1987 or early 1988, when Congress passed a bill that would penalize violators with fines peaking to $250,000 and/or a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted.^{[citation needed]} Those who engage in such acts are often referred to as "video pirates" or "video hackers". Hijacking a signal of any kind is a felony in the United States.^{[citation needed]} FCC redirects here. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political...

Confirmed events

Captain Midnight on HBO

Main article: Captain Midnight (HBO)

MacDougall's message as seen by HBO viewers.

At 12:32 am Eastern Time on April 26, 1986, HBO (or Home Box Office) had its signal hijacked from its satellite tower in Long Island by a man calling himself "Captain Midnight". The interruption occurred during a presentation of The Falcon and the Snowman. The intrusion lasted between 4 and 5 minutes and was seen by viewers along the East Coast. The man, who during the interruption also threatened to hijack the signals of Showtime and The Movie Channel, was later caught and identified as John R. MacDougall of Ocala, Florida. He was prosecuted shortly thereafter. Authorities were tipped off by a man from Wisconsin in a phone booth at a rest area off Interstate 75 in Gainesville, Florida. The man filing the report said that he overheard MacDougall bragging about it. MacDougall was fined $5,000 and served a year probation. McDougall stated that he did it because he was frustrated with HBO's service rates. He also said that it was hurting his business selling satellite dishes. The message, placed over SMPTE color bars, broadcast by MacDougall read: John R. MacDougall, also known as Captain Midnight, is an electronic engineer and business owner, who jammed HBOs satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners. ... Image File history File links Hbocaptainmidnight. ... Image File history File links Hbocaptainmidnight. ... Metronome, a public art installation showing the time in New York City The Eastern Time Zone (ET) of the Western Hemisphere falls mostly along the east coast of Northern America and the west coast of South America. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see HBO (disambiguation). ... This article is about the island in New York State. ... The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film about two young American men who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union. ... This article is about the pay TV channel. ... The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium cable television network owned by Showtime Networks, Inc. ... This article needs cleanup. ... Nickname: Location of Ocala, Florida Coordinates: , Country United States State Florida County Marion County Area  - City  38. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Phone Booth is a 2002 morality thriller about a man who is trapped in a telephone booth by a sniper. ... Rest stop redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Location in Alachua County and the state of Florida Coordinates: , Country State County Incorporated (city) 15 April 1869 Government  - Type Council-manager  - Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan  - City Manager Russ Blackburn Area [1]  - City 49. ... Color bar redirects here. ...

Religious takeover

In September of 1987, Playboy TV (then known as the Playboy Channel), based on the popular adult magazine, had its signal hijacked by a man later identified as Thomas Haynie who was employed by the Christian Broadcasting Network. He was convicted and was suspended from his duties under the new provisions.^[1] For other uses, see September (disambiguation). ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Playboy TV is a Pay-per-view cable/satellite channel available in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland. ... For other uses, see Playboy (disambiguation). ... The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is, as its name implies, a Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. ...

Max Headroom pirating incident

Main article: Max Headroom pirating incident

On November 22, 1987, an unidentified individual wearing a Max Headroom mask intercepted the signals of two television stations in Chicago. Independent (now CW) station WGN-TV, owned by Tribune Company, was first in line. Its signal was hijacked during the sports report on its 9:00 pm newscast for about 25 seconds. Then came PBS station WTTW, where the Max Headroom pirate was seen and heard uttering obscene remarks and later posed nude by dropping his pants, and was then spanked with a flyswatter before the screen went black. The interception occurred at about 11:00 pm during an episode of Doctor Who entitled Horror of Fang Rock and lasted almost 90 seconds. To this day, the man responsible for these infractions still goes unidentified. This incident got the attention of the CBS Evening News the next day and was talked about nationwide. The HBO incident was also mentioned in the same news report, presented by Frank Currier. Both WGN and WTTW along with Chicago's other television stations are broadcast from high atop two of the world's tallest buildings, the Sears Tower and the John Hancock Center. Max Headroom impostor in his video The Max Headroom pirating incident was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois on the evening of November 22, 1987; it is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. ... is the 326th day of the year (327th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Max Headroom Max Headroom is the name of a fictional artificial intelligence, known for his surreal wit and a stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled delivery. ... For other uses, see Chicago (disambiguation). ... “The CW” redirects here. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB) is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. ... PBS redirects here. ... WTTW (Channel 11) is one of three PBS member stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on March 5, 1955 and is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications Inc. ... This article is about the television series. ... Horror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 3 to September 24, 1977. ... CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963. ... The Sears Tower is a skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. ... Several buildings bear this name, all built by John Hancock Insurance and named after John Hancock. ...

"Telewizja Solidarność" (TV Solidarity)

In September of 1985, four astronomers at Poland's University of Torun, Zygmunt Turlo, Leszek Zaleski, Piotr Lukaszewski and Jan Hanasz, used a home computer, a synchronizing circuit, and a transmitter to superimpose messages in support of the labor movement Solidarność (Solidarity) over state-run television broadcasts in Torun. The messages read ""Enough price increases, lies, and repressions. Solidarity Torun" and "It is our duty to boycott the election" with the Solidarity logo.^[2] The four men were eventually discovered and were charged with "possession of an unlicensed radio transmitter and publication of materials that could cause public unrest". At their sentencing, the judge noted their prize winning work in the Polish scientific community and gave each of them probation and a fine of the equivalent of US$100 each (or 3,000,000 old zlotys, now just 300 PLN). The average month salary was equal to $20USD.^[3] Solidarity (Polish: ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny SamorzÄ…dny ZwiÄ…zek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the then Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

The era of Soviet pirate broadcasting

According to numerous claims, memoirs and witness reports,^[4][5][6] broadcast signal intrusion was a common practice in the USSR during the 1970s and 1980s, due to the absence of and high demand for any non-government broadcasting. Hijackers would overpower the signal on relay stations for wired radio networks in order to transmit their own programming, or transmit into wired radio networks during gaps in normal programming. Even though the incidents appear to have been fairly common, few of them were publicly reported for policy reasons. State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Soviet republics Area  - Total  - % water 1st before collapse 22,402,200 km² Approx. ... Airborne radio relay is a technique employing aircraft fitted with radio relay stations for the purpose of increasing the range, flexibility, or physical security of communications systems. ...

Other incidents

On November 26, 1977 at 5:12 p.m., an Independent Television News broadcast on British television channel ITV (specifically for its Southern Television region) was interrupted by the voice of someone calling himself "Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command", in conjunction with a continuous “bopping” or “buzzing” sound. During this incident, the actual newscast video remained unchanged, but with the voice of "Vrillon" overriding the normal audio. The interrupting voice was electronically disguised and warned viewers about the dangers of nuclear weapons and stated that humanity had “but a short time to learn to live together in peace and goodwill,” before destroying itself. This altered broadcast lasted for approximately five and a half minutes and the identity of the “alien” Vrillon has never been discovered.^[7] is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Independent Television News (ITN) is the main supplier of news broadcasts to two British television groups: ITV and Channel 4. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... Southern Television was the first ITV holder for the south and south east of England from 30 August 1958 until 1 January 1982. ... Vrillon, representative of the Ashtar Galactic Command was the name used by an unidentified voice who broadcast on the transmitters of Southern Television in the United Kingdom for about five minutes at 5:10 PM on Saturday November 26, 1977. ...

In 2002, Falun Gong practitioners claimed to have broken into CCTV, the major television broadcaster in Mainland China, and other local stations in China to broadcast Falun Gong propaganda.[1] Falun Gong, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) also known as Falun Dafa, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; lit. ... China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV (simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the major television broadcaster in Mainland China. ...

On January 3, 2007 in Australia, during a broadcast of an episode of the Canadian television series Mayday on the Seven Network, an audio loop unexpectedly started playing, clearly saying in an American accent, “Jesus Christ, help us all, Lord”. This same voice message continued to repeat itself over and over during the show for a total of six minutes. A spokesman for Seven later denied that the transmission was a prank or a security breach and claimed that the repeated line was actually part of the original broadcast and said, “Jesus Christ one of the Navarines”, although there is hardly any similarity between the two phrases. Subsequent investigation by independent researchers revealed that the invading transmission was actually from a video taped news broadcast of a civilian truck being ambushed in Iraq. It remains unknown whether or not this was an intentional act of television piracy or a genuine glitch of some sort.^[8] is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Main articles: History of Canada, Timeline of Canadian history Canada has been inhabited by aboriginal peoples (known in Canada as First Nations) for at least 40,000 years. ... Look up mayday in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Seven Network is an Australian television network, owned by the Seven Media Group. ...

On June 17, 2007, an intrusion incident occurred on Czech Television's Sunday morning programme Panorama, which shows panoramic shots of Prague and various locations across the country, especially mountain resorts. One of the cameras, located in Černý Důl in Krkonoše, had been tampered with on-site and its video stream was replaced with the hackers' own, which contained CGI of a small nuclear explosion in the local landscape, ending in white noise. The broadcast looked authentic enough; the only clue for the viewers was the Web address of the artist group Ztohoven, which had already performed several reality hacking incidents before. Czech Television is currently considering legal action against the group, and tourism workers in the area have expressed their outrage (since the programme serves to promote tourism in the areas shown).^[9] is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Logo of ÄŒeská televizes ÄŒT1 channel. ... For other uses, see Prague (disambiguation). ... Motto (Czech) Truth prevails Anthem Czech Republic() – on the European continent() – in the European Union() [] Capital (and largest city) Prague Official languages Czech Demonym Czech Government Republic  -  President Václav Klaus  -  Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek Independence (formed 9th century)   -  October 28, 1918   -  January 1, 1993  EU membership May 1... Aerial view over Karkonosze Karkonosze (Polish name, pronounced kár-ko-no-she;  KrkonoÅ¡e? in Czech; Riesengebirge in German) or Giant Mountains are part of the Sudetes Mountains in Central Europe. ... CGI may mean: Computer-generated imagery, a film-making technology Common Gateway Interface, a technology used in web servers CGI.pm, a Perl module used for dealing with it CGI Group, a Canadian headquartered information management company (formerly ) Computer graphics interface, a low-level interface between the Graphical Kernel System... Calculated spectrum of a generated approximation of white noise White noise is a random signal (or process) with a flat power spectral density. ... A Uniform Resource Locator, URL (spelled out as an acronym, not pronounced as earl), or Web address, is a standardized address name layout for resources (such as documents or images) on the Internet (or elsewhere). ... Reality hacking is an artistic practice that emerges from the intersection of hacking and hacker culture, contemporary art, activism, and net culture. ...

On July 13, 2007, a grainy photo of a man and woman interrupted Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate WJLA's digital or HD signal. The picture was not transmitted over the analog signal, however. It was originally claimed not to be part of any broadcast, but later claimed to be part of a commercial for the Oprah Winfrey Show that had frozen. Either case, an internal investigation has been started by the station and is being reported by other stations and websites as a "signal hijacking". If that claim is found to be true, it would be first broadcast signal intrusion (in the US) since the Max Headroom pirating incident in 1987 and the first for a digital signal in the United States.^[10] is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... For other uses, see Washington, D.C. (disambiguation). ... This article is about the American broadcast network. ... WJLA, Washingtons ABC7 is the local ABC affiliate in Washington, DC, and is located on channel 7 (digital channel 39). ... Oprah Winfrey, (born January 29, 1954) is a multiple-Emmy Award winning host of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest rated talk show in television history. ... Max Headroom impostor in his video The Max Headroom pirating incident was a television signal hijacking in Chicago, Illinois on the evening of November 22, 1987; it is an example of what is known in the television business as broadcast signal intrusion. ...

About a month later, on August 22, 2007, the FX network's audio seemed to be distorted to East Coast viewers. This may have been the first time in 21 years since the HBO "Captain Midnight" incident to have broadcast signal intrusion occur on a cable channel.^{[citation needed]} is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... FX (for Fox eXtended Networks) is the name of a number of related subscription TV channels owned by News Corporations Fox Entertainment Group. ...

Radio

It is a more frequent event to intrude on various radio stations, as many simply rebroadcast a signal received from another radio station. All that is required is an FM transmitter that can overpower the same frequency as the station being rebroadcast. Other methods that have been used in North America to intrude on legal broadcasts include breaking into the transmitter area and splicing audio directly into the feed.^[11]

In fiction

Broadcast signal intrusion is used as a plot device in many genres of fiction. Common fictional usages of the act include the depictions of technologically advanced space aliens or countercultural figures hijacking broadcast media in order to easily spread their messages to the general population. A plot device is an element introduced into a story to solely to advance or resolve the plot of the story. ... For other uses, see Fiction (disambiguation). ... Green people redirects here. ... In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ...

See also

• Pirate radio
• Pirate television
• Culture jamming

The term Pirate Radio usually refers to illegal or unregulated radio transmission. ... For the act of stealing a TV signal that would usally require payment see Pirate decryption A pirate television station is a broadcast TV station that operates without official or government licensing. ... Culture jamming is a resistance movement to cultural hegemony and the homogenous nature of popular culture, executed by means of guerrilla communication. ...

References

is the 9th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 115th day of the year (116th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• "Vrillon" Signal Intrusion - 1977 at YouTube
• CBS News report on Max Headroom Chicago Takeover at YouTube
• 1987 Max Headroom Pirating Incident - article and video
• Blog report on Channel 7 Hijack (includes source video for looped audio)
• Broadcast intrusion on Czech Television by Ztohoven (Flash video; accompanying text in Czech)
• Statement made by art group ZTOHOVEN regarding their attack at the public service broadcaster in the Czech Republic
• An artistic group interfered with the Czech TV broadcast with fictitious nuclear explosion
• Video of the "Telewizja Solidarność" signal intrusions at YouTube
• Polish Tv pirate