TopTV which wants to start a separate bouquet of three sex channels says prepaid TopTV subscribers won't be able to get porn - it will only be for contract subscribers.
TopTV is arguing its case before South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) today at Icasa's head office in Sandton where the struggling South African pay-TV operator's public hearing over its "authorisation for channels" request is underway.
The struggling On Digital Media (ODM) which runs TopTV, and which is currently under business rescue according to the Companies Act, applied for a second time to broadcast three sex channels as a separate bouquet. This time TopTV wants to broadcast Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice as a separate bouquet and with a rating classification of R18.
The sex channels are provided to TopTV by Playboy TV UK / Benelux Limited in England and are uplinked through SES Platform Services in Munich, Germany to South Africa.
Where TopTV in its first unsuccessful application in 2011 and in its first written submission for it's second new submission said it wants to broadcast the channels for 24 hours per day, ODM has now made an about-turn and offers to restrict the broadcast of the three adult entertainment channels to the so-called '"watershed period"' which falls between 20:00 and 05:00.
"We acknowledge that there is genuine public concern about the protection of children from viewing adult TV content," says Eddie Mbalo, the acting CEO of TopTV.
"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," says Eddie Mbalo.
In its submission today at Icasa, TopTV says the sex bouquet "will not be available to prepaid customers".
TopTV launched a prepaid offering last year, saying its targeting the large unbanked market segment and people who don't always have money in the bank accounts at the end of the month when debit orders has to go through.
Pornographic subscription channels are however a huge driver of pay-TV revenue for pay-TV operators elsewhere in the world who do carry them, and subscribers pay a premium for access to these sex channels which carry a high age restriction and which operators don't usually advertise as openly as their normal bouquets and channel line-ups.
"ODM has systems in place in order to verify that all new subscribers to these channels are over 18," said TopTV in its presentation to Icasa today. All prospective subscribers to the porn bouquet will have to fax or email a copy of their ID to TopTV who will then verify their ID with the department of home affairs. Customers will also have to provide their banking details to TopTV which will also be verified.
