Southern Television broadcast intrusion (lost real-time footage of television hijack; 1977)
The Hannington transmitter, which was hijacked in 1977.
Status: Lost
The Southern Television hijacking was a television intrusion incident that occurred on November 26th, 1977, at 5:10 p.m. The hijack managed to override the UHF audio signal transmitted by the Hannington transmitter while distorting the UHF video signal that was transmitting ITN News with news reporter Andrew Gardner.
Details
Following the hijack, there was no agreed-upon version of the pirate broadcast's content, save that it involved an individual claiming to be an alien - variously remembered as "Gillon", "Vrillon" or "Asteron" - calling himself a representative of an "Intergalactic Association" and briefly warning viewers that they only had a short time to either learn to live in peace and remove all "weapons of evil", or end up leaving the galaxy altogether.[1][2][3]
Ultimately, the message was much longer and (coincidentally or not) referenced several core tenets of the New Age spiritual movement, claiming that mankind was on the verge of entering a new Age of Aquarius if only they would eschew the evils of commerce and instead open their hearts and minds to the universe's 'cosmic truth and love.' [4] The speech lasted around six minutes, with the audio returning to normal during an episode of Looney Tunes. The hijacker’s identity remains unknown.
Availability
There was some confusion regarding what media of this broadcast intrusion was missing. For years, it was assumed that both the audio and the footage of it occurring in real-time were publicly available, thanks to a frequently circulated video. However, the commonly seen video is a fake. Evidence confirming this includes how the reporter in the video is Cliff Michelmore during a report for local Southern television news, rather than Andrew Gardner reporting for ITN News. Additionally, a Cartoon Network logo can be seen in the Looney Tunes footage, despite the channel not even existing until 1992.[5] Ultimately, no known footage of the event occurring has been found.[6][7]
However, the broadcast intrusion's audio has been found. On August 16th, 2008, YouTuber ParaNormal uploaded both the intrusion and two news reports concerning the incident.[8] A higher quality version was also available on the MB21 website.[9]
Gallery
Videos
Images
TV guide showcasing Southern Television's content on the day. The hijack occurred when Southern Television was broadcasting the London feed and ended during its Cartoons slot.
See Also
- Captain Midnight (partially lost test intrusion footage of television hijacks; 1986)
- Lucky Seven (lost TV intrusion footage for unused "Channel 7" TV channel; 1978)
- Max Headroom Television Hijacking (lost audio from first transmission; existence unconfirmed; 1987)
- Playboy Channel religious message (lost footage of television hijack; 1987)
- Telewizja Solidarnosc (lost footage of Polish television hijack; 1985)
References
- ↑ 'Galatic' hoax startles viewers
- ↑ Mysterious broadcast from 'outer space'
- ↑ British viewers hear 'message'
- ↑ Horton, Robert L. (2009). 2012 A Family Brief: The Science is all in
- ↑ TV Forum post, which debunked the circulated video and provided further information regarding the intrusion. Retrieved 18 Apr '21
- ↑ Who was "Vrillon"? - The Southern Television Broadcast Intrusion
- ↑ this the original Vrillon audio recording from 1977?
- ↑ YouTube clip with the full audio. Retrieved 18 Apr '21
- ↑ Archived MB21 page, which provided a higher quality version of the audio. Retrieved 18 Apr '21