Virgin 17 suspends text message broadcasts

Due to a failure in the verification system for text messages broadcast on the channel, Virgin 17 aired a text message containing racial slurs for 15 seconds, one time only, on Tuesday at 4:26 p.m.

Virgin 17 is extremely shocked and sorry that such speech appeared on the station. We apologize to our viewers and accept full responsibility for the error, which was caused by a serious failure on the part of UTEL, the service company in charge of screening text messages broadcast on Virgin 17.

An in-depth investigation was begun immediately and clearly identified the cause of the failure. Virgin 17 has responded appropriately by terminating our contract with UTEL and discontinuing the broadcast of text messages until the channel can be assured that our screening system is totally reliable.