The O.J. interview footage contained in this special are from interviews arranged by the Fox television network, which was a sister organization to HarperCollins via News Corporation at the time. The intent was to promote the book "O. J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," a book by ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves and, purportedly, by O. J. Simpson, in which Simpson allegedly puts forth a "hypothetical" description of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The book was originally due to be published by ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins. The original release of the book was canceled shortly after its upcoming publication was announced in November 2006. However, following objections to the special by several Fox station owners, the cancellation of the broadcast of the special was announced along with an apology from the then NewsCorp Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch.