"The Path to 9/11" (2006 Docudrama)/International Broadcast Controversies

The following international broadcast controversies emerged regarding "The Path to 9/11" (2006 Docudrama).

Broadcast not 'simultaneous' worldwide as claimed
The Seven Network (Australia) will air the program 14.5 hours before it airs on ABC in the USA, casting doubt upon the claim made to callers to the Seven Network that they are 'relaying' the program in the same form as it will be seen in the USA. The specific claim in the Seven promotional material is that the program will air "simultaneously" in Australia and the USA. The first segment of the program airs on Seven in Australia at 8:30 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time, September 10, 2006, which equates to 6:30 AM US Eastern Daylight Savings Time (EDST) on September 10, 2006. The program is slated to air on ABC in the USA later that day, at 8:00pm EDST, September 10, 2006. Edits reported to be in progress for the US broadcast thus may not appear in the Seven Network presentation in Australia.

Channel Seven Disclaimers & Claims
Channel Seven ran a full-page advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald the day before the first broadcast, in which it describes the program as "the drama that explains The Path to 9/11". (citation needed)

Seven dropped its claim about The Path To 9/11 being "The story of exactly how it happened." As of about 3:45pm AEST September 11, 2006, the Seven website described the program as "The thrilling dramatised investigation."

Controversy in New Zealand
TVNZ reports that they will run the version of Path to 9/11 that they already have in house which does not contain the last-minute edits, albeit with a disclaimer "saying it was a dramatisation, not a documentary".

Controversy in the UK
The Sunday Herald reports: "...a spokeswoman for the BBC defended the decision to go ahead with the broadcast, by saying: 'The BBC are broadcasting the Path To 9/11 as planned. We will be showing the same version as is shown in the US.'"

The first segment of the program is slated to air in the UK on BBC2 at 8:00 PM British Summer Time, which is 3:00pm EDST September 10, 2006, in the USA, 5.5 hours before the program will air in the USA, casting doubt on whether BBC will air the version with edits included.

Profiles

 * "Offical ABC Statement on The Path to 9/11," ABC Television, September 7, 2006.
 * ABC Mini-Series: The Path to 9/11, ABC.GO.com.
 * "The Path to 9/11", TV Guide Online (US).
 * "The Path to 9/11", BBC TWO Listings (UK).
 * "The Path to 9/11", TV ONE Listings (New Zealand).
 * Filmography: "The Path to 9/11", IMDb.
 * The Path to 9/11 in the Wikipedia.

Articles & Commentary

 * Note: Due to the escalating nature of this story, and the large amount of recent articles on various aspects of the topic, this section has been moved to its own page; or, you can go to the most recent articles.