ODM and StarSat's porn plans are raising new concerns within South Africa about "a flood of filth" on South African television.
"We at StarSat are proud to deliver this offering for the first time to South African viewers," says Eddie Mbalo about StarSat's pornographic bouquet which South African viewers can now subscribe to at a cost of R159 per month.
ODM and StarTimes changed the TopTV brand into StarSat. ODM and its financial backer, China's StarTimes, are now planning more porn in 2014 for StarSat besides the Playboy TV and hardcore Private Spice channel which come with an R18 rating. ODM will include pornography coming from Africa.
ODM and StarTimes changed the TopTV brand into StarSat. The separate Playboy Plus bouquet with the porno channels is supplied by Playboy TV UK / Benelux Limited in England and runs from 20:00 to 05:00 daily.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) granted ODM a license earlier this year following a second application.
Eddie Mbalo says the erotic sex channels will "in the long run promote healthy relationships, positive images of sexuality, and of women in particular," for South Africa.
Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute (FPI) has called for a renewed nationwide boycott in of On Digital Media and StarSat "with immediate effect", saying South Africans need to "take a bold and uncompromising stand against the flood of filth infiltrating our nation."
"Research consistently shows that regular porn consumption lead to addictions and often fuels sexual crimes against women & children." According to Errol Naidoo "our government is making it easier for children to be exposed to hardcore pornography on the internet and TV". He says people supporting ODM and StarSat are contributing to pornography on South African television.
The Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa) which is also opposed to ODM and StarSat's porn broadcast intends to have a court relook the pornography on South African television issue.
Jasa has brought a court application against ODM, Icasa, and the minister of communications. The case will be heard early in 2014. A group of teenagers also opposed to porn, has joined the case.
Jasa wants a court to review Icasa's decision regarding the broadcasting times. ODM initially wanted to broadcast the channels 24 hours per day but backed down and decreased it to starting only at 20:00 at night. Jasa says it is still too early if the sex television has to be shown at all.
"We don't think pornographic programmes should be broadcast at all, but after 23:00 would be a more reasonable time," says Jasa in a statement. We contend that fixing a watershed time of 20:00 flies in the face of common sense, bearing in mind that most teenage children finish their homework at about 20:00 and then watch TV for an hour or two until bedtime."
