Cape Town - On the eve of TopTV’s application to broadcast three new porn channels, the company’s CEO says most of the content is suitable for men and women – especially couples.
The application will be heard by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa).
Asked if he would watch the channels himself, CEO Eddie Mbalo told the Cape Argus: “Absolutely. In fact, I would watch them with my wife.”
Mbalo said they were applying for three different channels – “Playboy”, “Desire” and “Private Spice”.
All three channels are produced by Playboy, the company which was famously founded as a men’s magazine by Hugh Heffner in 1953.
“These channels are already broadcast in 62 countries around the world, and adhere to the industry standards set in the UK,” Mbalo said.
He took issue with the term “porn”, arguing: “If you want to watch porn, you will go on to the Internet. If you want ‘adult entertainment’, then you will typically watch Playboy.”
Asked to address concerns that children might watch the channels, if aired, he said: “First, the three channels will be packaged into a separate bouquet, for which one would subscribe separately.
“We also plan to introduce a security PIN, to allow parents to control viewing.”
Speaking in advance of Thursday’s’s application, he said: “For me, personally, it’s more than just adult content. It’s also an issue of principle, insofar as Icasa allows what South Africans should be allowed to see in the privacy in their own homes.”
In a statement on Wednesday, TopTV said: “TopTV are gearing themselves to present their case. TopTV hopes to launch a bouquet of three subscription-based channels that will offer South African viewers a choice to view adult entertainment.”
South Africans had the constitutional right to choose what they watched, it argued, and reiterated Mbalo’s point that “adult content” was freely available on the Internet, without any protection for children.
TopTV previously applied to Icasa to air the porn channels, but received no response for two months. It then decided to go ahead without Icasa’s permission.
Icasa then made an urgent application to the Joburg High Court, which ruled that TopTV could not broadcast the channels until Icasa had decided on the matter.
On Saturday, after a men’s march to Parliament to protest against the rape of women and children in South Africa, organiser Errol Naidoo said they would also launch their national boycott of the porn channels.
“Pornography channels will be adding fuel to the fire on the already appalling sexual abuse of women and children in the country.
“It (pornography) demeans and degrades women to sex objects.
“We will also be calling on people who are already subscribing to Top TV to cancel their subscriptions.”
Cape Argus