Comcast suspects 'foul play' in Tucson Super Bowl porn feed

Brian Pedersen

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona

Comcast believes the pornography that interrupted its feed of the Super Bowl Sunday night was the result of foul play, a company spokeswoman said Monday morning.

“Our initial investigation suggests this was an isolated malicious act,” spokeswoman Kelle Maslyn said in a statement emailed to the Star. “We are mortified by last evening’s Super Bowl interruption and we apologize to our customers. We are conducting a thorough investigation to determine how this happened.”

It is still unclear how many viewers were affected by the clip, which lasted about 30 seconds, and featured full male nudity, Maslyn said.

Comcast is Southern Arizona’s second-largest cable subscriber, with more than 80,000 customers in unincorporated Pima County, Marana and Oro Valley.

The interruption was only seen by Comcast subscribers who received a standard definition signal, Maslyn said, while those who watched the game on high-definition televisions were not affected.

Comcast is working on a plan to compensate customers, but nothing has been set in stone, Maslyn said.

The pornography clip was from Club Jenna, an adult cable television channel.

The Arizona Daily Star newsroom was flooded with calls from irate viewers who said that the porn cut into the game with less than three minutes left to play, just after Arizona Cardinals player Larry Fitzgerald scored on a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to put the team in the lead.

Callers said that the clip showed a woman unzipping a man’s pants, followed by a graphic act between the two.

The Super Bowl was being shown locally on KVOA. The station sends its signals — both standard definition and high definition — to Cox Communcations, which then sends the signals to Comcast, station president Gary Nielsen said.

KVOA’s signal didn’t have porn on it when the station sent it over to Comcast, Nielsen said. He said his station has received no complaints from viewers who watched the game on Cox, on satellite providers such as DirecTV or Dish Network or from people who saw it through an over-the-air signal.

“This did not emanate from us,” Nielsen said. “We are dismayed that this had to happen.”

Comcast has set up an e-mail account to take feedback from concerned customers. The address is comcasttucsonfeedback@gmail.com.

Customers can also call 744-1900, though the Star newsroom received several calls Monday morning reporting they could not get through to Comcast by phone.

Tampa's adults-only businesses hope to cash in on Super Bowl

By Susan Thurston, Times Staff Writer

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As the Super Bowl approaches, dancers at clubs such as Deja Vu in Tampa hope to draw big crowds and make big bucks.
	[LUIS SANTANA | Times]

TAMPA — Mons Venus strip club dancer Bernie Notte knows the cash a Super Bowl can bring. It flew at her like confetti during Tampa's 2001 game. She earned $6,000 in four days.

She danced so much that her feet bled. Customers didn't flinch at paying $100 for a $25 lap dance.

"It was crazy,'' she said. "Money was everywhere.''

Notte, 43, packed up her stilettos seven months ago to wait tables at the Mons. But the lure of Super Bowl XLIII tickled her toes.

She's headed back to the pole.

The Super Bowl is a command performance for a city defined, in part, by its international reputation for lap dancing. Tampa has 30 licensed adult dance clubs, adult theaters, live model studios and adult bookstores on record at City Hall. That's roughly 1 per 11,300 residents, among the highest rates nationwide.

The infamous adults-only scene gives Tampa part of its luster, some say.

"I don't think it's a stretch to say that the adult entertainment industry helps us get things like the Super Bowl,'' said Paul Allen, publisher of NightMoves magazine, one of the oldest adult club publications in the country.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy scoffed at that.

"That's ridiculous," he said.

But come next week, expect a steady stream of out-of-towners lined up outside a small, shoebox-shaped building on Dale Mabry Highway, in the shadow of Raymond James Stadium.

Each will pay a cover charge of maybe $60, up from the normal $20, though Mons Venus owner Joe Redner says demand will dictate price.

Inside, five or six dancers at a time gyrate around a pole, catching cash as it flies at them. A jukebox blares. Customers sip water, soda or juice — no alcohol at Tampa's all-nude clubs — until a spot opens on padded benches along the club perimeter.

Technically, lap dancing is illegal in Tampa. Technically, nude dancers are supposed to stay 6 feet away from customers.

"People need to be aware of the laws that apply," warns Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

Redner will keep the Mons open around the clock all week, closing it only for housekeeping. (Now and then, someone must polish the pole.)

Longer hours require more dancers. Weeks ago, the Mons started getting calls from out-of-town women wanting work.

"We tell them to come on down, and we'll take a look at them," said Redner, who often drops by the club to say hello, slap a butt or get a hug or two. "If we have extras, we'll send them to other clubs. We take the cream of the crop.''

Dozens will simply appear at the door, ready to go on stage.

Local dancers, told to welcome the carpetbaggers, will do so, hoping Super Bowl brings riches to share.

But the weak economy looms large. Redner said business is half of what it was two years ago. Lorry Kasner, a manager who danced at the Mons during the 2001 Super Bowl, warns that girls may have to work more hours to bring in the same tips.

"I think the money is still going to be there, but it's just not going to be as easy,'' said Kasner, 43.

They'll know better Wednesday, when the first flights of fans arrive. Last time, the surge continued a day after the game, sustained when customers stopped by for parting gazes on the drive to nearby Tampa International Airport.

Nichole Romagna, a.k.a. Nakita Kash, started thinking about the Super Bowl months ago. A pole dancing instructor who appeared on NBC's America's Got Talent, she posted ads on Craigslist seeking strippers to work Super Bowl week.

They had to get to town on their own dime and then try out. She promised to set them up at clubs during game week and find them places to stay.

About two dozen tried out, including one who Romagna said is a student at Dartmouth College. The dancer said she wanted to "get away" and didn't care how much money she made. She brought a suitcase full of makeup, 6-inch heels and high hopes.

In the end, she decided not to come back for game week. But six others start arriving Tuesday.

They will come from as far away as Washington state and California, Romagna said. They'll perform at the Tampa Gold Club and at Mermaids in St. Pete Beach, both of which reduced the dancers' house fee. Clubs typically will charge dancers $100 to $150 just to walk through the door.

Escort services also hope for a profitable week. Scott Outland, a manager for Florida's Hottest Escorts, said he's optimistic.

"I heard that there are unbelievable amounts of money to be made,'' he said. "But I'm holding my breath that it will be that good.''

His service charges $250 an hour but offers a 10 percent discount for Super Bowl clients. An overnight package goes for $1,800.

He said one customer who will arrive Sunday hired an escort for seven days straight at a cost of $24,000. His company's cut: half. The customer hinted that he might take the escort to the game.

Outland insists that his six escorts provide companionship only.

"It's all legitimate,'' Outland said. "All my girls sign a seven-page contract saying they won't do anything illegal."

Tampa police say they'll keep an eye on adult businesses, although keeping the public safe will take priority. This is Tampa's first Super Bowl since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and security will be extra tight.

Two women have already landed in jail on prostitution charges, arrested Jan. 16 near Raymond James Stadium. They told police they were in town for the Super Bowl. One listed her employer as the Moonlite BunnyRanch, a Nevada brothel.

Before Tampa's last big game, the National Football League warned players to avoid adult clubs. The city had been cracking down on lap dancing, most visibly with the arrests of two National Hockey League players.

This year? No memo.

"People figured out that lap dances do not advance the decline of western civilization,'' interprets Luke Lirot, Redner's attorney.

So, the party will go on.

Dancers will put on their Lucite heels, naughty smiles and little else for what may be the most lucrative days of their careers.

Tiffany Schrader will dance as long as her legs allow.

The 26-year-old from Clearwater joined the Mons Venus crew a few months after the last Super Bowl.

She has heard all the stories, and game week can't come fast enough.

"I'm not going home for a few days,'' she said. "I'll stop when it's over.''

Susan Thurston can be reached at sthurston@tampabay.com or (813) 225-3110. Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report.

Road to Super Bowl XLIII flanked by 43 strip clubs

By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer Mitch Stacy, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 26, 6:34 pm ET

AP – Cars are parked outside an adult entertainment establishment in Tampa, Fla. on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009. …

• Slideshow: Super Bowl XLIII

TAMPA, Fla. – There's Lip Stixx and Centerfolds and the Bliss Cabaret.

There's Diamond Dolls and Bare Assets and the Wild Gentlemen's Club. In fact, there are, by one count, 43 strip clubs in the Tampa metropolitan area — one for each Super Bowl. And the week of Super Bowl XLIII is to Tampa's naughty nightlife what Black Friday is to America's shopping malls.

All the exotic dancing joints have earned Tampa a bawdy reputation — the lads' magazine Maxim even put it on its top 10 list of best U.S. party cities a couple years ago, based mostly on the two score and more night spots to see naked or nearly naked women.

Now, with at least one spot planning to have a tent in the parking lot to handle the overflow of free-spending tourists, locals expect to profit mightily through kickoff Sunday evening.

"Based on what we did last Super Bowl (in 2001), the numbers will quadruple during that weekend," says Nick Polefrone, general manager of 2001 Odyssey, a landmark club known for the spaceship-shaped VIP room rising from the top of the building.

Across the street is Mons Venus, a joint that is listed among the best strip clubs in the world by users of a Web site called The Ultimate Strip Club List. The two upscale clubs — walking distance from Raymond James Stadium, where the Arizona Cardinals will play the Pittsburgh Steelers — have been fixtures for decades. Polefrone figures Tampa's naughty national image grew out from there.

"Tampa has a reputation for having the most strip clubs and the most girls who are a lot of fun," says a 25-year-old exotic dancer named Claudia, who left her usual gig in Las Vegas to work the Super Bowl week here. (She asked that her last name not be used to save her family any embarrassment.)

Claudia says she's worked four previous Super Bowls and expects to make as much as $2,000 a day performing at 2001 Odyssey. Most clubs treat the dancers as independent contractors who pay a flat fee to the house and keep the rest.

"It's so crazy, everybody is in a such a party mood," she says. "It's a whole new level of everything."

The clubs have been busy auditioning more dancers and upgrading their interiors. Some will stay open 24 hours.

The Tampa Tribune helpfully added a feature to its Web site listing the 43 strip clubs and allowing Super Bowl visitors to search for such information as the cover charge and dress code.

Tired of Tampa's sleazy reputation, local lawmakers passed an anti-lap-dance ordinance before the last Super Bowl here in 2001, making it a misdemeanor offense for dancers to come within six feet of patrons. The measure got a lot of publicity, but police didn't arrest anybody during Super Bowl week.

Police spokeswoman Andrea Davis says officers won't be patrolling the clubs looking for dancers who get too close this time, but they'll be obliged to investigate if someone calls in a complaint.

"Our primary focus during the Super Bowl is going to be public safety," she says.

Bob Buckhorn, a former city councilman who pushed the six-foot ordinance, laments that the adult entertainment industry is "ingrained in the fabric of this community." The point of the law, he says, was to attack prostitution and prevent other crime by trying to keep guys away from those places. He wishes it was more aggressively enforced today.

"It's like cockroaches," Buckhorn says. "If you don't stay on top of it, it will infect and run you over. And that's exactly what's happened."

To the city's promoters, Tampa's image as the Lap Dance Capital of America is not exactly something to tout in the glossy brochures. Travis Claytor, spokesman for Tampa Bay & Co., the tourism bureau, would rather point out other attractions, such as:

• Beaches. Some of the best white-sand beaches anywhere are a half-hour or so from downtown. Two of them — Fort DeSoto Park and Caladesi Island — have topped the list from Stephen P. Leatherman, a Florida International University professor dubbed "Dr. Beach" for his annual rankings of the nation's best coastlines.

• Ybor City. The historic former Latin quarter east of downtown is a thriving entertainment district whose nightclubs will host some of the glitziest, celebrity-heavy Super Bowl parties. (There's a strip club there, too, of course.)

• Cigars. In the early 20th century, more cigars were made in Tampa than anywhere in the world, by Cuban immigrants. The city retains a rich cigar heritage, and some shops are still rolling them right on the premises.

But in the end, a lot of visitors will still be packing the clubs at night.

"It's not necessarily a negative thing, it's just one aspect of this destination," the judicious Claytor says. "There is so much more to our area than that particular industry."

Footballs marked with synthetic DNA

A Santa Ana, Calif., company says about 120 footballs will be used in Super Bowl XLIII, and all of them will be marked to prevent counterfeiting.

Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator, said his company and the NFL work together to prevent counterfeiting by marking each game ball with a strand of synthetic DNA that can only be seen under a specific laser frequency.

The DNA ink has an astronomical 1-in-33 million chance of being accurately reproduced by counterfeiters, said Orlando, author of Collecting Sports Legends.

Source: United Press International

Miller High Life will have 1-second Super Bowl ad

From: The Business Journal of Milwaukee

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MillerCoors said Tuesday that it will premier a one-second ad for its Miller High Life brand during the Super Bowl broadcast Feb. 1.

The spot will focus on the brand's current campaign that features the burly High Life delivery man who aims to reinforce the brand as a "good, honest beer at a tasty price." MillerCoors notes that air time for a 30-second commercial during the game is selling for as high as $3 million.

“Miller High Life is all about high quality and great value, so it wouldn’t make sense for this brand to pay $3 million for a 30-second ad,” said High Life senior brand manager Kevin Oglesby, in a press release. “Just like our consumers, High Life strives to make smart choices. One second should be plenty of time to remind viewers that Miller High Life is common sense in a bottle.”

MillerCoors must buy the commercial time through local market NBC affiliates because the brewer's top competitor, Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, has an agreement that makes it the exclusive national alcohol advertiser for Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.

To build anticipation for the debut of the one-second ad, which may not air in all parts of the country, High Life has launched www.1SecondAd.com. The Web site features several of the one-second ads that didn’t make the cut, as well as a 30-second teaser ad that begins airing later this week. The ads were created by Saatchi & Saatchi of New York City.

30 Super Bowl Snacks to Serve the Day of the Big Game

womansday.com — When it's time for the big game, don't fumble! Step up your game and satisfy the hearty appetites of all those football fanatics gathered around the tube

BUFFALO POTATO SKINS
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS
4 medium (about 8 oz each) baking potatoes, scrubbed
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp hot-pepper sauce
1⁄2 tsp salt
1⁄4 tsp onion powder
1⁄2 cup bottled lite blue cheese dressing

PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Pierce potatoes in 2 or 3 places with a fork. Bake directly on middle oven rack 45 to 55 minutes until tender when pierced. Increase oven temperature to 450°F. Have a rimmed baking sheet ready.
2. When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes lengthwise in quarters. With a spoon, scoop pulp from skins, leaving a 1⁄4-in.-thick shell (reserve pulp for another use). Place skin side down on ungreased baking sheet.
3. Mix butter, hot sauce, salt and onion powder in a small bowl. Brush evenly on potatoes. Bake 15 minutes or until browned at edges and crisp. Serve with blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Click here for the article with 30 yummy recipes...

Super Bowl Remains A Big Bash, But Ads Toned Down

The Associated Press

The Super Bowl is on track to remain one big, glitzy bash even in these tough economic times.

That's not to say some advertisers aren't nervous about buying expensive ad slots as business falters. Some stalwarts such as General Motors Corp., FedEx Corp. and Garmin Ltd. won't be advertising on the Feb. 1 broadcast on NBC. Playboy Enterprises Inc. isn't throwing its customary party at the game, for the first time in nine years.

But aggressive marketing by NBC to secure ad deals before last September's financial meltdown helped to ensure Super Bowl XLIII won't be a marketing bust.

NBC said 90 percent of the Super Bowl ads had sold as of mid-January. Most ads have sold for about $3 million per 30-second spot - an all-time high price for the Super Bowl, which is the most watched event in the nation, with about 100 million U.S. viewers.

The sales pace matched those of previous years and the network said it was in discussions on the remaining unsold spots. Most are in the fourth quarter, and tend to go for slightly less than other positions in the broadcast.

"There is unrivaled attention surrounding the game," said Brian Walker, senior director of communications at NBC Sports in New York. "As research confirms, it remains the most powerful vehicle for an advertiser to promote its brand and products."

While some high-profile advertisers have pulled the plug, many are staying put and some, such as Mars Inc.'s Pedigree pet food, will appear in the Super Bowl for the first time.

But the tone of some ads this year will reflect tough times. As Tim Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management puts it: A good ad connects with its audience. And that audience is stressed about finances.

Take the case of Hyundai Motors America.

Automotive ads during the Super Bowl tend to focus on vehicle launches, and Hyundai was planning to run two 30-second spots for its Genesis Coupe - one with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma playing a Bach piece that viewers can re-edit online.

But now, the South Korean carmaker might exchange one of the ads for a spot featuring a new incentive program that forgives auto loans for car buyers who lose their income within a year of the purchase.

"We know consumers are concerned about their future earnings," said Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing at Hyundai Motor Co.'s Fountain Valley, Calif.-based American division. "That's keeping a whole bunch of people on the sidelines from buying a new car."

Longtime Super Bowl patron Anheuser-Busch is taking a different approach. The Budweiser brewer said it wants its ads to uplift and entertain viewers instead of reminding them about the economy.

The company is still spending heavily on the Super Bowl, even after announcing 1,400 job cuts in December that were tied to its acquisition by InBev SA. Anheuser-Busch will be airing 4 1/2 minutes worth of ads - 30 seconds more than what it purchased last year - broken up into two 60-second ads and five half-minute spots.

The Super Bowl remains a unique marketing vehicle because it's known as much for its commercials as the game itself. A TNS Media survey released this month confirmed that people watch commercials throughout the game, instead of switching channels.

"The Super Bowl remains as truly the only property that has the ability to reach the largest mass audience across all demographics at one time," said TNS Media CEO Dean DeBiase.

That's why Audi of America is staying put and buying a 60-second spot. The Germany automaker Audi AG wants to raise its profile as a luxury brand for younger, affluent consumers.

"We need to make the Audi brand far more popular and far more known," said Chief Marketing Officer Scott Keogh. "That's why we do the Super Bowl and the Olympics."

Last year, traffic to Audi's Web site tripled in the month leading up to the Super Bowl - as details about the ads were teased - and the month immediately after.

In the face of dismal automotive news, Audi said it's important to communicate strength and optimism. Or as Keogh put it, "This is a brand that's spending money."

The Go Daddy Group Inc., which registers Internet domain names, is unapologetic about splurging on the Super Bowl. This is the same company that unabashedly threw a $2 million holiday party last month - flying in thousands of employees and guests to Arizona - as other firms cut back. CEO Bob Parsons rode a motorcycle into a concert that featured Joan Jett and Sinbad at Phoenix's Chase Field.

GoDaddy is elated that NBC has approved two somewhat racy ads for the Super Bowl, one of which will air after a consumer vote. Censors disapproved its ad for last year's Super Bowl, so GoDaddy aired a spot telling viewers to go to its Web site to watch the commercial. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based GoDaddy got 1.5 million Web hits before the game ended.

"Our ads are fun, edgy and slightly inappropriate," said spokeswoman Elizabeth Driscoll.

That figures to get attention no matter how the economy is doing

Super Bowl XLIII To Have Interactive/Hyperlink Commercials

by Gariné Tcholakian

While sales may be hurting for many these days, some super opportunities are on the horizon. On Feb. 1, for the first time in its 43-year history, the Superbowl will be enabled with hyperlinking technology, giving advertisers the opportunity to engage the largest TV audience of the year with interactivity on a pay-per-view basis - and viewers the ability to link directly from a 30-second network commercial to long-form content on demand.

Quebec specialty sportscaster Le Réseau des Sports (RDS) recently confirmed that commercial inventory on both standard and high-def channels for the Super Bowl XLIII live telecast from Tampa Bay, will be enabled with interactive functionality permitting viewers to opt-in and hyperlink directly from the RDS network to long-form video content. Viewers can also bookmark the content for future viewing.

Etc.tv, the Montreal-based pioneer of the on-demand ad serving system, provides real-time tracking of campaign performance to its ad clients. "The confluence of these factors - the audience, the event, the focus on highly anticipated advertising - provide advertisers with a unique opportunity to connect with 'hand-raisers' in an extended conversation," Ian MacLean, VP and GM, etc.tv, tells MiC, adding that he has seen "historically high" engagement rates with viewers since launching the etc.tv solution on RDS and RDS HD. "The RDS audience responds to the etc.tv 'Press Select' icon at a much higher rate than other TV nets on which we are operating."

Currently, the etc.tv ad management system's hyperlinking solution provisions more than 850,000 households in Quebec, reaching over 2 million consumers.

Michel Gagnon, VP sales and marketing, RDS, says that other major telecasts including the World Series of baseball, Montreal Canadiens hockey, the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NHL All-Star Game will also offer the same interactive technology in coming months.

"Because so many national advertisers choose to take advantage of that massive audience to showcase compelling new advertising, this presents an historical opportunity for brands to invite interested consumers to link from their 30 second ad to learn more," says MacLean.

Television advertisers currently using Etc.tv's platform span automotive, packaged goods, tourism, entertainment and financial service industries. Etc.tv plans to expand its service throughout Canada and in the US through 2009.

www.etc.tv

www.rds.ca