July 23rd Events & Coupons

Auctions, Pop Ups and Marketplaces See All

Netflix Bites MGM Grand Las Vegas
Pop Ups and Vendor Markets | Feb 11, 2025 - Feb 20, 2026
United States > Nevada > Las Vegas > > 89109

Conventions, Live Shows and Fairs See All

Michael Jackson MJJ5 Exhibition at The Showboat Resort
Memorabilia Exhibition | Jun 15 - Aug 31, 2025
United States > New Jersey > Atlantic City > > 08401
Barbie to Anna Karenina: The Cinematic Worlds of Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer Exhibition at the Academy Museum
Memorabilia Exhibition | May 23, 2025 - Oct 25, 2026
United States > California > Los Angeles > > 90036

Coupons & Sales See All

Product Releases See All

Show and Movie Releases See All

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Screening Series at Vista Theater
Film Screenings and Series | Jul 18 - Jul 28, 2025
United States > California > Los Angeles > > 90027

Social and Cultural Events See All

Make Music New York, World Music Day
Social and Cultural Events | Jun 21 - Dec 21

July 23rd In History

Contests and Giveaways See All

Academy Museum x Cinephile: Movie Trivia Night
Gaming Contests | Jul 23, 2023
United States > California > Los Angeles > > 90036
Ladies of STK DJ Tour
Contests | Jul 20 - Aug 26, 2023
United States > New York > New York City > > 10014

Firsts, Starts and Openings See All

Special Ops: Lioness
Season 1 Premiere | Jul 23, 2023
First-ever Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival
Art Exhibitions | May 20 - Dec 31, 2023
Hong Kong > > Sai Wan Ho

Milestones See All

Narratives See All

Amy Winehouse
Deaths | Jul 23, 2011

Product Releases See All

Show and Movie Releases See All

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1
U.S. Theatrical Releases | Jun 28 - Aug 16, 2024
World Premiere of Ray Harryhausen Tribute The Primevals at Fantasia International Film Festival
World Premieres | Jul 23, 2023
Canada > Québec > Montréal > > H3G 1M8

Captain Midnight HBO Broadcast Signal Intrusion | Apr 27, 1986

Captain Midnight HBO Broadcast Signal Intrusion

Crime, Conspiracy and Mystery | Apr 27, 1986

HBO Max

On April 27, 1986, under the pseudonym “Captain Midnight,” American electrical engineer and business owner John R. MacDougall jammed the Home Box Office (HBO) satellite signal on Galaxy 1 during a viewing of the movie The Falcon and the Snowman. The four and a half minute message was broadcast to the eastern half of the United States in protest to HBO’s rates for satellite dish owners, which MacDougall considered overly expensive. MacDougall was working as an operations engineer at the Central Florida Teleport uplink station in Ocala, Florida, and wrestled control of the transmission from technicians at an HBO communications center in Hauppauge, New York.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the jamming, identifying the transmitters and stations equipped with the specific character generator used during the broadcast signal intrusion. MacDougall soon surrendered to authorities.

Under a plea agreement with the prosecutor, he was given a $5,000 fine, one-year unsupervised probation, and a one-year suspension of his amateur radio license. The jamming received much attention in the U.S., with one executive calling the intrusion an act of “video terrorism.” As a consequence of the incident, the United States Congress passed the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 U.S.C. 1367), making satellite hijacking a felony. The Automatic Transmitter Identification System was also developed soon after.

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