Comcast's Tucson system has turned over the investigation into who was responsible for inserting 30 seconds of hard-core porn into its Super Bowl XLIII broadcast feed to the FBI.
"We have determined that the next step is to turn the investigation over to the FBI. We have shared all of our information on this situation with the FBI and will continue to provide our full cooperation to them throughout their investigation," Comcast Tucson corporate affairs manager Kelle Maslyn said in a statement Tuesday posted on the site of KVOA, the local NBC affiliate.
The cable operator had previously confirmed that the porn gaffe -- which interrupted KVOA's standard-definition feed with a scene from Playboy Enterprises' Shorteez pay-per-view channel showing a male porn star's genitals -- was not the result of equipment malfunction (see Comcast Call: Super Bowl Porn A 'Malicious' Act). KVOA's HD feed on Comcast was not affected.
Comcast on Tuesday also reiterated its finding that the incident was "an intentional malicious act" after its own internal investigation.
KMSB, Fox's Tucson affiliate, reported that the FBI confirmed Comcast had turned over the porn investigation but that the agency offered no additional details.
In the aftermath of the incident, the cable operator offered a $10 credit to customers who were exposed to the porn clip.
Comcast is the second-largest cable provider in southern Arizona, with 80,000 customers in the area. Cox Communications, which operates the Phoenix cluster, is the largest.
