The folks who brought you the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake Super Bowl flap took responsibility for it Wednesday, but not the blame.
National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue told Congress that he blamed the MTV producers of the halftime show and Mel Karmazin, president of MTV’s parent Viacom Corp.
But Tagliabue also cited “my own ineptitude and the ineptitude of others” in recounting the contentious sessions that preceded the Feb. 1 broadcast for 100 million, including a threat to terminate the MTV contract six weeks before the game.
Karmazin said a preliminary investigation found no culpability at any Viacom subsidiary–either MTV, which produced the show, or at CBS, which broadcast the game. Instead, he pointed to “the artists who decided to change the show” just one hour before game time.
Tagliabue conceded that the NFL should have been more assertive before the Super Bowl. “We found MTV difficult to deal with,” he said, recounting the four-way talks involving the NFL, CBS, the broadcaster; MTV, the producer; and AOL, the sponsor.
Disputes arose over lyrics, costumes and the use of the flag by Kid Rock. At one point in mid-December, he said, “Our senior staff was seriously considering terminating MTV as producer of the halftime show.” At that point, he met with CBS President Les Moonves to resolve some of the differences.
