[1][failed verification] The first known Emergency Override Systems or Local Access Alerts were delivered during the boom of cable television in the 1960s,[citation needed] although it was not directly (and mainly) called the two main names of systems, as they sometimes pronounced it in various names.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Local Access Alerts began to spread all over the United States, although few cities and towns had cable television yet.

The Local Access Alert is initiated by local law enforcement or emergency management staff, much like the antiquated Emergency Broadcast System, by dialing a number and entering a PIN through a telephone to take control of the cable of an area in the path of danger.

A limitation of the Local Access Alert system is that operators have to dial out to end transmission.

The newer Emergency Alert System employs Specific Area Message Encoding technology to activate for potential disasters and deactivate to resume cable broadcasts, especially late at night when many public servants aren't available to break in.