Note to TV anchors and producers: if you are doing a segment on a gadget that hooks into your phone number or email, be prepared for those things to appear on-air.
NBC’s Hoda Kotb and CNN’s Michaela Pereira learned that the hard way this morning, as both women had their personal phone numbers broadcast for all to see during segments about Samsung’s new “smartwatch.”
Shortly after the start of the 10 AM hour, Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford played around with the device, accidentally flashing Kotb’s number in the process.
“Is that my number?,” Kotb asked. “See, it’s happening, people are calling my number! Hello? Who is this? Is this me?”
“Oh, you have a lot of fans, and a couple of prisoners,” Gifford joked.
“Oh god, it’s happening!” Kotb responded. “I have 20 voice mails, 22, 23… What just happened?”
Pereira played it a bit cooler on CNN after Zain Asher accidentally flashed her number while calling her from the Samsung gadget.
“Why does Michaela have a 1-900 number?” Chris Cuomo quipped.
Pereira gave the camera a knowing glance before picking up her phone, and moving on with the segment