Satellite Sex in Africa

In April, the South African TV regulator ICASA announced that it had authorised Top TV to broadcast three adult channels Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice. Programming will include both hardcore and softcore material.

The organisation has now published a document explaining the reasoning behind the decision, and explaining why it overturned a previous decision to refuse a licence for the adult package.

Icasa said it is of the considered view that there is no evidence to demonstrate that pornography is a direct cause of gender-based violence:

After due consideration, the Authority accepts that there is no law of general application prohibiting the production and distribution of adult pornography in the Republic of South Africa.

The Authority also accepts that there is no conclusive evidence to demonstrate that pornography is the direct cause of gender-based violence in the Republic of South Africa. Those opposing the applicant's channel authorisation application where not able to provide evidence to demonstrate a conclusive link between pornography and gender-based violence.

The applicant did present evidence to demonstrate that the distribution of pornography is not indicated as a cause of gender-based violence in the Republic of South Africa.

Icasa said that the objectors who had indicated their opposition to applicant's application have two forms of recourse:

• They may approach Parliament to formulate a law of general application to prohibit the distribution of adult pornography; and
• They can monitor applicant's broadcast of the pornographic channels to ascertain whether the applicant is in compliance with the Code and make complaints to the BCCSA in this regard.

The launch of TopTV's porn channels is being delayed by the business rescue process the satellite pay-TV operator is currently undergoing.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator has granted a local satellite television service permission to air the country's first pornography channels.

The Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) ruled that there is no law of general application prohibiting the production and distribution of adult content by TopTV.

The three channels, Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice will be broadcast between 8pm and 5am.

According to the watchdog, objections were brought by several groups but were commendably dismissed as they were:

Based on moral grounds, rather than a research evidence to demonstrate some of the conclusive remarks linking pornography and gender-based violence.

Update: Not yet happening

8th July 2013. See review from  mybroadband.co.za

The launch of TopTV's porn channels is being delayed by the business rescue process the satellite pay-TV operator is currently undergoing, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The paper quotes Peter van den Steen, On Digital Media's business rescue practitioner, as saying in an update to creditors last week that enacting the rescue plan was not straight-forward, making it was taking longer than anticipated.

Christian and moralist groups are uniting behind a boycott of TopTV as the company seeks permission to broadcast three porn channels. Family Policy Institute director Errol Naidoo said:

[The] Family Policy Institute (FPI), in partnership with several major Christian denominations in South Africa, has launched a nation-wide boycott of TopTV, its advertisers, and sponsors.

The Christian church is deeply concerned that the introduction of three pornographic channels in South Africa will exacerbate the current crisis of rape and violence against vulnerable women and children.

Research overwhelmingly indicates the widespread and easy availability of pornography is harmful to society.

For some reason Naidoo neglected to point out the scale of child abuse initiated by Christian clerics, and the resulting harm to society.

Christian churches that have joined the boycott are the Apostolic Faith Mission of SA, Assemblies of God of SA, the Baptist Union of SA, the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, and Church of England in SA.

The Dutch Reformed Church, the Full Gospel Church of SA, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa, and the Association of Vineyard Churches in SA have also committed to the boycott.

On Thursday, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) heard an application by TopTV to broadcast the channels.

TopTV subscribers watching a sex channel on its proposed separate porn bouquet will have to stop and re-enter their PIN every 30 minutes.

In its application before the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), TopTV said that viewers watching porn will have to re-enter their PIN after every 30 minutes as a safeguard against a sex channel being left unattended:

All Playboy channels will be configured with a preset time-out period (eg. 30 minutes) after which the PIN must be re-entered. This prevents the channel being left unattended for longer than the preset period.

TopTV has also said that their prepaid subscribers will not be able to gain access to it's bouquet of porn channels, and that it will only be made available to contract subscribers.

Eddie Mbalo, the acting CEO of TopTV said:

We acknowledge that there is genuine public concern about the protection of children from viewing adult TV content.

Even though we have strict mechanisms in place to give parents full control over the access to these channels, as an extra precaution we have made the decision not to broadcast adult material outside the watershed period, when children are likely to be awake.

TopTV is currently arguing its case before Icasa for authorisation for channels to broadcast soft and hardcore porn in South Africa. TopTV wants to offer three porn channels - Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice - as a separate porn bouquet and with a rating classification of R18 which comes with its own PIN system.

South Africa's TopTV has filed a new application with the country's TV censor,  Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), to launch three adult content channels on its pay TV satellite service.

Heather Kennedy, vice president of marketing at Top TV, confirmed reports that the three channels in question are: Playboy TV, Desire TV, and Private Spice.

TopTV and On Digital Media (ODM) were previously banned from a similar 4 channel lineup after nutter opposition chimed with influential politicians.

Among the reasons for ICASA's ban were that the right of women to equality and human dignity overrides TopTV's right to freedom of expression, as well as the rights of viewers to receive pornography on television in the home.

The channel line up has now been modified and is now better set to appeal to women and couples so as to address the concerns of the TV censor. TopTV describes the channels as follows:

• Playboy TV: a 24-hour erotic entertainment service starring the world's most beautiful women.
• Desire TV: a brand-new, bespoke 24-hour adult service designed to appeal to men, women and couples. The service will showcase sensitive, erotic, and sensual driven sex scenes. It will only contain content that celebrates women, the human form and the act of lovemaking.
• Private Spice: a 24-hour adult service featuring beautiful women and stunning locations that sets the standard of adult entertainment.

South Afica's TopTV's bid to air TV porn channels was banned in part by the country's TV censor because it deemed women's rights and dignity outweighed the right to freedom of expression.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) released the reasons for its ban:

On the issue of balancing the rights of women to equality and human dignity with the right of freedom of expression, ICASA is of the view that the right of women to equality and human dignity overrides TopTV's right to freedom of expression, as well as the rights of viewers to receive pornography on television in the home.

ICASA holds this view because it regards the consumption of pornography as one contributing factor, amongst others, to the normalization of violence against women in SA.

In its statement  ICASA summarised:

1. The right of women to equality and human dignity overrides TopTV's right to freedom of expression, as well as the rights of viewers to receive pornography on television in the home.
2. TopTV's failure to take ICASA's public consultation process seriously damaged its application.
3. ICASA sees no reason to expand access to pornography given government's restrictions on the content through the Film and Publications Act.

Satellite pay-TV broadcaster TopTV is now seeking legal advice before deciding on their next move.

South Africa's Independent Communications Authority will take legal action against TopTV should the pay-TV broadcaster continue with its plan to launch three porn television channels within the next few weeks.

On Digital Media, the company that owns TopTV, said last month it would go ahead with the launch of the channels early this month despite Icasa's objections.

It argued that the TV censor had not responded to its application in the required three months and TopTV was therefore legally entitled to go ahead.

However, Icasa last week maintained that it was illegal for TopTV to proceed with the launch until the regulator had finalised the application process.

If TopTV goes ahead with the launch we will have no option but to obtain an interdict to stop them. We are waiting for their response to our queries, Icasa spokesman Paseka Maleka said. He added a public hearing on the issue would be held within the next two weeks. Icasa would rule on whether or not it would grant TopTV's application for the three new channels by the end of the month.

Update: Court prevents porn starting before the TV censor has finished deliberating

17th January 2012. See  article from  mybroadband.co.za

The South Gauteng High Court has granted the  Independent Communications Authority of South Africa an urgent interdict to stop a satellite TV operator rom going ahead with its proposed porn channels. The company must now wait on the deliberation by the TV censor.

TopTV wants to introduce a standalone porn package of channels Adult XXX, Private Spice and Playboy Europe.

The TV censor's public hearings into the licence application by On-Digital Media, owner of Top TV, have now begun in Sandton, Johannesburg, where the year-old operator was not represented despite being invited to respond and make presentations.

The misleadingly named Freedom of Expression Institute, African Christian Democratic Party and the Film and Publication Board have all opposed the launch.

Freedom of expression is not a pre-eminent right, and especially not when it infringes on children's rights to be protected from harm, spouted Pearl Kupe, on behalf of the Christian Action Network: Putting in pin-blocking functions presents very little challenge to the increasingly techno-savvy generation, and I know this being a mother.

The African Christian Democratic Party said it was impossible to build a strong nation with dysfunctional families , and producers and distributors of pornography had shown contempt for family values .

Freedom of Expression Institute's executive director, Elston Seppie, said the right to freedom of expression was about balance, ...BUT... the right of children, women and family values should take precedence.

Update: Inevitably Banned

28th January 2012. See  article from  xbiz.com

TopTV has lost its bid to provide South Africa with its first-ever paid adult satellite programming.

South Africa's TV censor, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has refused to allow the company to broadcast softcore Playboy Europe , and hardcore Private Spice and Adult XXX channels.

ICASA spokesperson, Paseka Maleka said the censor would release the reasons for the denial wihtin the next 30 days.

In a letter to Reuters, ICASA said, We advise that the Council of the Authority ... decided, after careful consideration, to refuse On Digital Media (Pty) Ltd's application for the authorization of (the proposed) video channels.

Update: Inevitably Delayed

2nd March 2012. See  article from  mybroadband.co.za

ICASA said it would provide grounds for its decision within 30 days, or by 27 February 2012.

However the TV censor did not deliver its justification by the deadline, telling MyBroadband that the reasons are yet to be approved by ICASA Council in the next week or so.

They are currently being vetted by ICASA Legal Department and will therefore be released after approval by Council, explained ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka.

New player in South Africa's pay-TV market, TopTV, has announced that it had made an application to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) for permission to launch three adult content channels.

The latest bid to get porn on to South African television screens follows leading pay-TV broadcaster MultiChoice who some while ago, decided to can its foray into adult TV after widespread objections from the public.

Icasa spokesman Paseka Maleka said depending on the nature of the submissions, it may hold public hearings before it decides whether to give TopTV the go-ahead. Maleka said such a public hearing would most likely be held next month , but could not say when the process would be finalised.

TopTV last week announced its intention to launch porn channels, while distancing itself from a company called African Satellite Installations, which had indicated that French porn channel PSatTV would soon be available in SA via the TopTV satellite.

TopTV's holding company, On-Digital Media , said the porn channels would be separate from its bouquets and would carry a strictly enforced adult restriction. They would only be accessible as a secure, encrypted and separate subscription package on the pay-TV platform. Potential subscribers would need to provide proof that they were over the age of 18, and viewing of the channels would require a unique, four-digit PIN code.

A spokesman said content for all three channels would be provided by Playboy TV, with one being a soft porn channel and the other two having more raunchy content. It would cost R199 a month.

Update: The Inevitable Nutter Boycott

14th December 2011. See  article from  mybroadband.co.za

Some Christian organisations plan to boycott TopTV after it announced it would launch 24-hour pornography channels next year, said the Family Policy Institute.

The institute's director Errol Naidoo said:

The Christian denominations and church affiliations support the view that the broadcasting of hardcore pornography on television degrades and objectifies women [strange, this is done so much more effectively by some religions] and exposes children to harmful content.

Millions of Christians will be encouraged to join the mass boycott of TopTV by not paying their subscription fees and cancelling their contracts with the pay channel.

TopTV's advertisers and sponsors would also be targeted by the boycott, said Naidoo.

About six Christian organisations have affiliated themselves with the boycott, including the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa and the Methodist Church of South Africa.

Interesting news from South Africa over the promise of the country's first hardcore satellite porn channels.

Porn Satellite Television (PSat) promises 24/7 hardcore adult television and says it will launch this January. The channel will be broadcast on the Astra 4A satellite, which is also utilized by the mainstream channel, TopTV.

As a separate service, PSat subscribers will have to pay R99 a month for special equipment needed to access the channel.

According to iAfrica.com, PSat originated in France and is broadcast from outside of South Africa.

There was previously there was a mainstream service suggesting that it could  branch into porn, but the authorities were not having any of it, and the idea stayed on the drawing board. Perhaps this new idea has more of a 'Red Hit Dutch' feel to the service.

Update: You can't broadcast porn...we want to do that

9th December 2011.  See  article from  business.avn.com

It did not take long for TopTV to express its opposition to the planned rollout of a 24/7 porn channel on the same Astra 4A satellite from which it broadcasts to South African subscribers.

TopTV is claiming that the PSat service is illegal because it has not received permission to broadcast porn from South Africa's TV censor, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). TopTV said it is considering a lawsuit based on the alleged illegality of the planned January launch. An PSat spokesperson, John Solomon, countered that TopTv does not have grounds for a lawsuit because PSat, which is an already existing French channel that wants to expand into South Africa, does not need to get permission from ICASA.

An ICASA spokesperson concurred that Solomon needs to get additional approval before its decoders can be distributed to the public.

But TopTV may have another reason for objecting to TopTV. According to iol.ca.za, the network has itself applied to ICASA for permission to launch three Playboy subscription channels to its lineu

The TopTv application has already been publicly opposed by the country's censorship board, the Film and Production Board, whose spokesperson, Mlimandlela Ndamase, said, We definitely will oppose the application in a manner similar to the way we did with MultiChoice when they wanted to launch a 24-hour pornography channel.

The possibility of MultiChoice broadcasting pornography has been laid to rest.

The company has decided against broadcasting pornography and the possibility of new sex channels on DStv's satellite service.

Since the end of last month, several nutter groups have had predictably vehement reactions against the idea.

MultiChoice has announced that it had studied research data compiled by means of a subscriber survey to determine how viewers feel about adult content on pay TV channels. According to a statement, the research showed that a significant percentage of subscribers are opposed to adult channels, while some don't mind, and another significant percentage are in favour .

Nolo Letele, MultiChoice chief executive, said it's a pity that people interpreted the research as if the decision had already been made. According to him, such research often includes questions about content which has been requested by subscribers, or channels which are popular abroad: The survey three weeks ago focussed on adult content since our industry will soon be facing competition in South Africa.

DStv, the South African satellite pay-TV is considering broadcasting pornography in one if its channels or creating a new channel, Die Burger newspaper reports.

The newspaper reports that MultiChoice has been immersed with requests for adult entertainment on DStv.

Jackie Rakitla, general manager of corporate affairs at MultiChoice, is quoted as saying: At this stage we're merely doing research to determine the extent of interest in adult content, and we're looking at the feasibility of implementing such a service.

MultiChoice is looking different broadcasting options, such as the broadcasting of mixed pornography - hardcore porn between 21:00 and 05:00 and soft porn between 05:00 and 21:00 – or hardcore porn 24 hours per day, or soft porn 24 hours per day on DStv.

Nutters Unimpressed

Based on article from mg.co.za

If DSTV went ahead with plans for a channel featuring pornographic content, it would be like pouring fuel on the fires of sexual abuse and exploitation , the Christian Action Network have claimed.

CAN international coordinator Taryn Hodgson said in a statement that considering the high incidents of rape, child abuse and sexual violence against women, it was unacceptable for DSTV to be be considering a porn channel.

Should DSTV introduce such a channel they would be supporting those that exploit, objectify and degrade women, she said: Porn violates women's constitutional rights to dignity and equality.

CAN has urged its affiliates, who are DSTV subscribers, to fill in the channel's online survey on the issue. Should DSTV go ahead with such a channel, the Christian Action Network will urge its affiliates to cancel their DSTV subscriptions, Hodgson said.

Update: Ministry of No Fun

9th March 2010. From eyewitnessnews.co.za

IMinister of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya said she would fight the launch of a DSTV pornography channel.