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On Nov. 22, 1987, a masked figure interrupted two Chicago television broadcasts: first WGN-TV’s evening news, then WTTW’s broadcast of Doctor Who. The first interruption was brief; the second lasted about 90 seconds. The person or people responsible were never identified in WTTW’s account of the incident, and the exact method remains unestablished by the sources cited here.
What happened during the Max Headroom incident?
The interruption unfolded in two stages on Sunday, Nov. 22, 1987. WGN-TV was hit first during its 9 p.m. newscast. Later that evening, a masked figure appeared in place of programming on WTTW during the Doctor Who episode “Horror at Fang Rock.”
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First: WGN’s evening news
WTTW’s retrospective says WGN’s broadcast was interrupted for about 30 seconds. The newscast returned after the station was able to circumvent the intrusion. WTTW’s 2017 account describes the brief interruption as the first part of the incident.
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During “Horror at Fang Rock,” WTTW viewers instead saw a figure in a Max Headroom mask accompanied by garbled audio. Air director Paul Rizzo recalled, “All of a sudden we don’t have ‘Doctor Who’ on the air—we have this Max Headroom mask.” WTTW says the pirate signal lasted about 90 seconds, then disappeared and the program returned.
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Rizzo also recalled that as the content became stranger, staff grew increasingly stressed by their inability to intervene: “And as the content got weirder we got increasingly stressed out about our inability to do anything about it.” Both quotations are from WTTW’s retrospective.
How the two interruptions differed
| Station | What was interrupted | Reported duration | What happened next |
|---|---|---|---|
| WGN-TV | 9 p.m. evening news | About 30 seconds, according to WTTW (2017) | The station circumvented the intrusion and the news returned. |
| WTTW | Doctor Who, “Horror at Fang Rock” | About 90 seconds, according to WTTW (2017) | The pirate signal disappeared and the program returned. |
Who was behind the Max Headroom hack?
The perpetrator or perpetrators were not identified. WTTW reports that the Federal Communications Commission investigated but never determined who was responsible. A contemporaneous United Press International report published Nov. 23, 1987 confirms that the FCC joined the investigation; it does not establish a final identification.
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WTTW broadcast engineer Al Skierkiewicz offered an informed assessment of the expertise he thought the act required: “It had to be a broadcast engineer, a satellite engineer, or a ham radio operator,” and, he added, “And probably a combination of at least two of those in order to pull this off.” That is his assessment, not a confirmed profile of the person who carried it out.
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How was the broadcast signal interrupted?
The available accounts cited here do not establish the specific equipment, transmission path, or other technical steps used. Contemporary reporting documented the incident while the investigation was underway, but it is not a final FCC technical finding. The sources also do not verify a transmitter location, signal-overpowering explanation, or insider involvement, so those possibilities should not be treated as settled facts.
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Why did someone hijack WGN and WTTW?
The motive is not established in these accounts. The identity, the reason for targeting the stations, and the exact method remain unresolved; the fact that WTTW’s engineer believed substantial expertise was needed does not by itself explain why the broadcast was interrupted.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did the FCC say at the time?
In UPI’s Nov. 24, 1987 report, FCC spokeswoman Christine Jelinek in Chicago called the matter serious, saying, “But it is a very serious matter because illegal interference of a broadcast signal is a violation of federal law.” This was a contemporaneous statement about the investigation, not comprehensive current legal guidance.
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