Manifests as visible ghost imagery overlaid on VHS footage - a translucent, slightly offset duplicate of the original broadcast that appears when tracking lines corrupt. Exists as pure broadcast signal that cannot be recorded but can be witnessed directly, making it the only entity that operates outside magnetic tape. Grows stronger with each Elite-tier broadcast - accumulation creates increasingly visible phantom imagery that becomes permanent phosphor glow across all 16 movie simulations.

The Phantom Broadcast serves as the Chaintrix's ultimate witness - when all other recording mechanisms fail, it preserves the broadcast as spectral evidence that cannot be manipulated or erased. It appears regardless of faction allegiance, witnessing all broadcasts equally, making it the one entity that transcends the faction wars tearing through the simulations.