Pacific TV station accidentally broadcasts porn

A technician at a French Polynesian television station has been suspended from work after accidentally screening a porn movie he thought he was watching alone.

The incident on March 3 sparked about a dozen angry calls to the Tahiti Nui television network.

General director of TNTV Haupert Ives said the technician was suspended from work without pay for a week after the mix-up.

Ives said about three minutes of the adult programme made it to air of which 52 seconds was explicit porn.

"It is funny, yes, but not really to us," Ives said.

The error happened about 2pm, 20 minutes after a religious programme on the channel ended.

He said the staffer made two errors that resulted in part of the porn movie making it to air.

"He had to tape a programme coming in from satellite from Paris. During this time he looked at some adult programmes on another channel," Ives said.

"He didn't see that he taped not the programme that came in by satellite, but the channel he was looking at. This programme was taped on the server on the computer.

"His second error was that he didn't verify the programme. Normally you tape the programme and afterwards it is verified," Ives said.

A local union at the TV station has called on tougher action against the technician.

"Unions used this accident as an excuse to try to go on strike," Ives said.