Roughly 20 million viewers watched Geraldo Rivera’s NBC special turn allegations of a secret Satanic network into prime-time television. Airing on October 25, 1988, the 2-hour “Devil Worship: Exposing Satan’s Underground” won its time slot while presenting claims that investigators would later find little credible evidence to support.
The broadcast described an alleged underground tied to ritual murder, child sexual abuse and “baby breeding” for sacrifice. It also drew connections between Satanism and heavy metal, including Ozzy Osbourne, as well as Dungeons & Dragons and teenage subcultures.
Rivera’s guests included law enforcement officers, people who said they’d escaped Satanism, alleged victims and self-identified Satanists, including representatives of the Church of Satan. Graphic footage accompanied the program’s claims about ritual crime.
The Satanic Panic was already underway. Fear of organized Satanic ritual abuse had spread through largely unsubstantiated allegations, and the special gave those fears a national television platform.
Its ratings success came alongside advertiser resistance and criticism within NBC, including from its news division. NBC executives later distanced themselves from the broadcast, which became widely criticized for sensationalism, weak evidence and amplifying the panic.
Subsequent investigations found little credible evidence of the vast, coordinated Satanic underground the program described. Years later, Rivera publicly apologized for his role in fueling the panic.
