vakka = vaikka?

[Rekkari]

In Yle Uutiset selkosuomeksi - Keskiviikko 18.2.2015, the second sentence of the last paragraph of the third article (Hän ei ole yksin, vaikka ystäviä ei näy.), I hear the reporter clearly saying vakka (without the diphthong) rather than the expected vaikka.

Is vaikka ever pronounced vakka, like, for example punainen can be pronounced punanen in the Helsinki dialect?

Just wondering...

[sotka_]

Is vaikka ever pronounced vakka, like, for example punainen can be pronounced punanen in the Helsinki dialect?

No.

[Jukka Aho]

In Yle Uutiset selkosuomeksi - Keskiviikko 18.2.2015, the second sentence of the last paragraph of the third article (Hän ei ole yksin, vaikka ystäviä ei näy.)

In other words, the point 03:38 in the embedded audio clip.

I hear the reporter clearly saying vakka (without the diphthong) rather than the expected vaikka

You’re correct, he pronounces that word in a sloppy way. It sounds strange and off to my native ear as well.

Is vaikka ever pronounced vakka, like, for example punainen can be pronounced punanen in the Helsinki dialect?

Doesn’t sound like a commonly accepted or understood pronunciation to me. More like a random glitch in the matrix, I guess.