The September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 had a significant impact on broadcast and venue entertainment businesses, prompting cancellations, postponements, and changes in content. In the United States and several other countries, planned television screenings of films and fictional programs where terrorism, plane crashes, bombs, or other related disasters that were the primary subject were postponed or cancelled.

Films

Numerous films that were in production were cancelled, and many films were edited. There were various reasons given for the alterations, including keeping material up-to-date, as a gesture of respect for those who died, and to avoid trauma for those emotionally affected by the attack. There are also many films which notably were not edited. Roughly 45 films were edited or postponed because of the September 11 attacks.

Edited films

With the World Trade Center removed

Other changes related to the September 11 attacks

Delayed films

Cancelled films

Non-altered films

Some films released after 9/11 kept scenes of the WTC in them.

Television

News coverage

The television coverage of the September 11 attacks and their aftermath was the longest uninterrupted news event in U.S. television history, with the major U.S. broadcast networks on the air for 93 continuous hours. From the moment the news was broadcast that the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center, all programs and commercials were suspended, with all four networks broadcasting uninterrupted news coverage. At the end of the night, Nielsen estimated that at least 80 million Americans watched the evening news, while an estimate by the University of Georgia held that about two billion people either watched the attacks in real time or through the news. The September 11 attacks were also the first time since the assassination of John F. Kennedy that television networks announced that there would be no television commercials or programs for an indefinite period of several days after the attacks, since it was widely felt that it was an inappropriate time for "fun and entertainment" programs to be shown when so much death and destruction was being seen live on television. During the week of the attacks, the networks' evening news broadcasts nearly doubled its average viewership audience, and it was estimated that American adults watched an average of eight hours of television a day, nearly doubling the average viewership audience. To keep up with the constant flow of information, many news networks began running continuous updates in a news ticker, which soon became a permanent fixture of many networks. On the day of the attacks and afterwards, news broadcasters scrambled to report accurate information, though erroneous information was occasionally broadcast. An examination of CNN's coverage of September 11, 2001 (which was replayed online, virtually in its entirety, on the fifth anniversary of the attacks in 2006) revealed that after the attack on the Pentagon, the network had also reported that a fire had broken out on the National Mall, and that according to a wire report, a car bomb had exploded in front of the State Department. It also broadcast an interview with a witness to the Pentagon attack who said it was a helicopter (not a plane) that hit the building. CNN was not alone in airing these or similar inaccurate reports, as subsequent examinations of coverage by other networks has shown.

Reaction of various networks

Use of pictures

When asked for her thoughts on the attacks, First Lady Laura Bush stated that "we need to be very careful about our children". She warned parents not to let their children see the frightening images of destruction in a constant loop, and recommended that parents turn off the television and do something constructive, reassuring, and calming with their children.

Programming

The most immediate impact to television was the loss of David Angell, a co-creator and co-executive producer from the NBC show Frasier, who with his wife, was among the passengers on American Airlines Flight 11. In the United States, the start of the 2001–2002 television season was put on hold due to the extensive news coverage (several series, such as NBC's Crossing Jordan, were originally scheduled to debut on September 11), with mid-September premieres delayed until later in the month. Late-night talk shows such as The Tonight Show and Late Show with David Letterman were also off the air; Letterman was already dark for the week for a pre-season vacation. Even after regular programming resumed, several talk shows remained off the air for several more days as writers and hosts determined how best to approach the sensitive situation. David Letterman was quoted on CNN as questioning whether he would even continue hosting his show. Ultimately, Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and other talk show hosts based in New York and Los Angeles returned to the airwaves with emotional initial broadcasts, with Letterman punctuating his thoughts by asking his audience how the attacks "made any goddamn sense." This was the second of four instances where the start of the television season was delayed due to issues outside of the control of the major television networks; the other instances were the 1988–89 season (as a result of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike) the 2020–21 season (due to television production being halted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic), and the 2023–24 season (as a result of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes). Several TV series, most notably The West Wing and Third Watch, produced special episodes addressing the attacks; Third Watch devoted an episode to interviewing first responders, many of whom were advisors to the series, while West Wing presented an off-continuity episode in which the characters discuss an unspecified but similar attack with a group of students. Law & Order and its spinoff series all began their fall season premieres with a tribute to the victims. Shows such as the military based JAG and Third Watch (a series about New York City first responders) made major changes to their ongoing storylines to incorporate the event's aftermath. The season eight premiere of the NBC sitcom Friends was dedicated to the "people of New York City". Characters in the HBO crime drama The Sopranos discussed the attacks in several episodes, and the overall mood of the show became darker; the twin towers were also removed from the opening credits. The HBO show Sex and the City removed the twin towers from its title sequence in the next season. Alias, a series set within the espionage world that debuted in the fall of 2001, began adding references to terrorism and the Department of Homeland Security (an entity created after 9–11). On September 17, 2001, Politically Incorrect host Bill Maher's guest Dinesh D'Souza disputed President George Bush's label of the terrorists being "cowards", saying that the terrorists were warriors. Maher agreed and, according to a transcript, replied, "We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it's not cowardly." The comments were widely condemned, and the show was cancelled the following June, which Maher and many others saw as a result of the controversy; however, ABC denied that the controversy was a factor, and said the show was cancelled due to declining ratings. Maher said that the show struggled for advertisers in its final months. Family Guy creator and animator Seth MacFarlane was going to board Flight 11 to Los Angeles, but missed his flight due to drunkenness the night before.

Delayed or cancelled entertainment awards shows

The postponements and cancellations of various entertainment programs sparked rumors that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were postponing or even canceling the 74th Academy Awards ceremony. However, in a written statement released by president Frank Pierson, he denied any rumors that the attacks would affect the scheduling of the awards presentation saying that "the terrorists will have won" if they cancelled it. Nevertheless, the show went on as planned on March 24, 2002. The security was much tighter than in previous years, and the show had a more somber tone. According to New York Magazine, there were 26 references to the attacks during the telecast. On October 16, 2006, the awards event itself was designated a National Special Security Event by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Reflecting the significant and enduring impact of September 11 on popular culture, months and years after the attacks, events were still impacted, with the 2003 Grammy Awards being held at Madison Square Garden instead of Staples Center as planned. Blockbuster Entertainment terminated their awards ceremony permanently shortly after the second delay of the Emmys.

Other changes

TV shows with the WTC digitally added

Non-altered shows

Music and radio

Theme parks

Sports

Many major sporting events in North America were cancelled. These included: The following sports events were delayed: Sporting events that were not delayed despite the attacks include:

Video games

Other