The 1987 Max Headroom Pirating Incident

For the full story, a transcript and other associated files, go to: labyrinth13.com/OtherWorks_MaxHeadroom.htm

(Embedded video clip is public domain footage).

The "Max Headroom pirating incident" is the fascinating story of the successful hijacking of two television signals in the Chicago, Illinois area on Sunday, November 22, 1987. This feat was accomplished by a mysterious person wearing a Max Headroom mask who somehow over-rode the station signals and then proceeded to perform an illegal broadcast on live television.

The incident began when television broadcasts at two different stations (WTTW and WGN) were interrupted by the hijacker on the same day, only hours apart. The first incident occurred during the sports segment of the WGN 9:00 p.m. news broadcast; the second incident took place around 11:15 p.m. during a late evening showing by WTTW of an episode of the Doctor Who television show.

The hijacker’s motives for the act of piracy remain unclear, but it is possible that he may have held some sort of private grudge against the two Chicago stations that were affected by his broadcasts: he made a direct reference to WGN sportscaster Chuck Swirsky, as well as to hijacked station WGN (known as the “World’s Greatest Newspaper") by referring to the latter as the “greatest world's newspaper nerds.”Later commentary on this event would refer to the hijacker as "a sophisticated video pirate with an unsophisticated sense of humor who managed to override the signals of Chicago's [television] broadcast." And criticism was even leveled at the pirate for not using his "air time" to say something more profound!

The independent genius responsible for hijacking the signal has never been caught or identified. May he live long and prosper!