Financial channel interrupted by naked bodies

LAS VEGAS - Local CNBC viewers got a little more than a stock-market ticket when pornographic pictures found their way onto the financial news channel.

The local cable company was trying to figure out how it happened.

Viewers watching CNBC Monday afternoon saw naked bodies writhing around on the Spice channel, an adults-only selection that's usually pay-for-view.

A few minutes after the pictures appeared, Cox Communications discovered the error and put up a dark screen. Within an hour, the normal CNBC channel found its way back to the television system.

Steve Schorr, Cox Communications vice president of government affairs, said Monday night that the company doesn't know what happened but has a team of investigators working to find out.

One scenario is that ''somebody, somehow'' got into the computer-based system and switched the channel, Schorr said. The other is that the electronic system itself failed.

''We want to first find out what took place, then make sure it doesn't happen again,'' Schorr said.