ESPN 97.5 FM said its over-the-air signal was “hacked” Sunday afternoon after unexpected and unauthorized audio began playing during the station’s NFL coverage. The disruption occurred during the broadcast of the Philadelphia Eagles–Dallas Cowboys game.
Shortly after the game’s start, the station’s feed was overtaken by a loop consisting of fake Emergency Alert System (EAS) tones, a country music track, and a promotional message encouraging listeners at the time to follow a set of social media accounts.
Those accounts, according to the station, were deactivated shortly after the incident.
The station acknowledged the breach at 4:34 p.m. in a statement posted to social media, writing that audio aired “within the last hour that did not come from their studios,” prompting concern from listeners who quickly alerted station personnel.
It remains unclear how long the audio loop continued before regular programming resumed. Morning show hosts John Granato and Lance Zierlein read a prepared statement Monday morning addressing the matter.
“Our radio station was a victim of a cyber attack that put racist and unfortunate audio on our air that in no way represents our company, the radio station, or our employees,” read Granato. “It’s unfortunate that bad actors and evil people choose these actions. Whether it was senseless and random or intended and personal. we don’t want to give this incident or violators the attention they’re seeking. We’ll be working to ensure this doesn’t happen again, and appreciate everyone’s understanding.”
ESPN 97.5 did not identify a specific cause or suspect. A listener posted the audio via their personal Facebook page. Caution: Language may not be suitable for work.
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