SANTA ANA : Adult Movie Shown by Accident on Cable

Comcast Cablevision officials are blaming a malfunctioning television switcher for the accidental screening of an adult film on its preview channel.

The non-rated movie, “Cecil Howard’s Foxtrot,” was shown on Comcast’s Channel 36, which normally shows short segments of upcoming movies on the cable service’s pay-for-view channels.

The film, which shows several explicit sex acts, aired on the preview channel for almost an hour beginning at 9 p.m. before technicians yanked it off the airwaves.

The film was supposed to be shown on Channel 39, which shows non-rated and R-rated movies, said David Barford, general manager and vice president of Comcast Cablevision in Orange County.

“We are still investigating what happened,” Barford said. “We believe our switcher malfunctioned and put the movie over Channel 36.”

Barford said the switcher prevents viewers from getting channels that are scrambled. Comcast has three pay-per-view channels that are scrambled, including Channel 39.

Normally, viewers cannot get programming from the scrambled channels unless they pay about $4 a program, Barford said.

“We’re extremely upset that this happened,” Barford said. “We certainly are taking measures to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The station reported that it received nine complaints about the screening.