WASHINGTON, March 17, 2010 (AFP) - Young viewers of children's television programs in North Carolina got a glimpse of something far more risque than their favourite cartoons, when a cable glitch broadcast two hours of the Playboy channel.

"Due to a technical malfunction, some adult programs had been diverted on children's networks," Time Warner Cable vice president of public relations Alex Dudley told AFP on Wednesday.

"We sincerely apologize."

The equipment failure, which took place between 6:15 and 8:15 am on Tuesday, beamed previews of adult shows with scantily clad women striking suggestive poses and talking dirty into a portion of the Kids on Demand and Preschool on Demand channels, local media reported.

The cable operator reportedly learned of the glitch when worried parents alerted them to the problem.