Porn cuts into TV sports programme

By Yvonne Tahana

Sky has apologised for a technical glitch which caused pornography to screen on thousands of televisions yesterday.

Toyota Grassroots Rugby was showcasing its usual fare of premier and senior club rugby on Prime TV yesterday when adult channel Spice:xcess interrupted.

About four minutes of the hour-long sports show was replaced by Spice at about 3pm for digital subscribers in Auckland and Northland.

Spice, one of three Sky adult channels, offers "sexy, exotic women, fetish lifestyle, ethnic and gonzo for those who believe variety is the Spice of life," according to the broadcaster's website.

North Shore Sky subscriber Mike Steenson was watching the rugby show with his 3-year-old son when porn rolled across his screen.

At first he thought it was a prank. "I'm not sure how many people were watching but it's not something you expect to come on, on a Sunday. You can't make mistakes like that."

Sky's director of communications, Tony O'Brien, said a technical fault in the system which manages the distribution of programmes was to blame.

"We apologise for any offence which may have been caused," he said.

The fact that it happened on a Sunday when kids and parents were likely to be at home was "doubly" embarrassing.

Steps had been taken to ensure that it would not happen again, Mr O'Brien said.