ITV let off after World Cup own goal

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has been cleared by regulator Ofcom after an incident that saw over a million viewers miss England’s first goal at the World Cup.

Ofcom received 823 complaints following an unscheduled ad break on ITV HD during England’s opening match against the US, just as Steven Gerrard scored.

Ofcom revealed that someone activating the wrong button or trigger in the control room at transmission provider Technicolor caused the incident. The watchdog said: “Ofcom notes ITV’s acknowledgement of this error and that during half-time coverage of the match, an apology was broadcast to viewers by presenter Adrian Chiles. Ofcom is also aware that following the match, both ITV and Technicolor apologised for the incident. Ofcom accepts that the incident was an unfortunate error and ITV made no commercial gain from it.”