NY1 AKA New York One (spoken)
First local 24-hr cable news station. Launched by Warner-Amex Satellite Productions, or W.A.S.P., in 1992, NY1 was, upon its debut, a bastion of amateurism, despite prestigious placement atop the cable 30-channel roll. The vast majority of NY1 on-air staff was untrained and, often, unpaid[1]. Field reporters were required to use their own audio and video equipment - their reports were then aired directly, as NY1 lacked in-house editing equipment. Approximately 30% of NY1's airtime was dedicated to advertising, far outpacing demand - an imbalance that resulted in the stark juxtaposition of sleek corporate spots with "free access" local plugs. NY1's slapdash infrastructure made it ripe for exploitation - its unscreened call-in programs were plagued by pranksters, and its cable feed was subject to signal hacking on a number of occasions.[2]
- ↑ W.A.S.P. received a $17 billion valuation in 1991, reporting net profits of over $2 billion.
- ↑ Including a lengthy pirate broadcast of the song/video "Judgement Day" by the hacker/rap collective Konami Dream during an early morning replay of NY1's onsite Wall Street segment "From the Floor.” With reported overnight NY1 viewership topping out in the high double digits, the intrusion initially went completely unnoticed.