Broadcasting Complaints Commission to decide if StarSat will be fined up to R60 000 after it broadcast its porn channels for a month without authorisation.

The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) will have to decide what fine to level against On Digital Broadcasting (ODM) and StarTimes Media South Africa's StarSat satellite pay-TV platform after it broadcast it hardcore pornographic TV channels illegally for a month.

The BCCSA will decide whether StarSat, which kept broadcasting its porn channels, has been in breach of the BCCSA's Subscription Service Licencees' Code of Conduct, and what fine to level against ODM.

In a case before the BCCSA, the commission heard that StarSat kept broadcasting its set of sex channels in South Africa illegally and without being authorised to do so, from 10 December 2014 to 6 January 2015.

On 3 November 2014, Judge Lee Bozalek in a Western Cape High Court judgment, found against ODM and StarTimes Media SA's sex TV channels and that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) erred in the licensing and licensing process of granting a licence for the porn channels.

ODM filed an appeal which was dismissed on 10 December, and ODM then applied to the Supreme Court of Appeal on 7 January 215 for leave to appeal which was also dismissed with cost to ODM.

"StarSat was required by law to stop broadcasting from December 10. They refused to do so," said Greta Engelbrecht for the Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa) on Tuesday in the case before the BCCSA.

"For the period 10 December 2014 to 6 January 2015, StarSat illegally and with impunity, broadcast the unauthorised channels," said Gerda Engelbrecht.

"We need to give a message to broadcasters who broadcast without authorisation. It is not a question of content , but a question of broadcasting."

Jasa asked the BCCSA to level a fine of R60 000 against ODM and StarSat.

Steve Budlender representing ODM before the BCCSA told the commission that ODM did infringe on the broadcasting code but called it "a technical infringement".

ODM revealed that 284 StarSat subscribers accessed the pornographic TV channels during the period.

The sex channels cost subscribers R159 per month and StarSat continued to broadcast PlayboyTV and Private Spice which has since been changed to the Brazzers porn channel.

STARSAT PORN COURT CASE: On Digital Media and StarTimes' porn TV channels on StarSat a criminal offense, promotes unsafe sex and infidelity, argues group.

The Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa) argued in the Western Cape High Court yesterday that the pornographic TV channels on On Digital Media (ODM) and StarTimes South Africa's StarSat satellite pay-TV platform in South Africa are promoting unsafe sex and infidelity and that South Africa's broadcasting regulator contravened laws when it granted StarSat a licence to start broadcasting the sex channels.

Jasa, Cause for Justice and Doctors for Life are taking StarSat to court over the satellite-TV operator's porn TV channels.

The group argues that StarSat's (formerly TopTV) broadcasting of pornography on South African television contravenes section 19 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act, which deals with the exposure to, or display of pornography to children, as well as the Films and Publications Act.

Besides StarSat, the respondents in the porn TV case include the chairperson of South African's broadcasting regulator, Stephen Mncube of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) - which initially denied StarSat's first application; Peter van der Steen who is StarSat's business rescue practitioner since the company is in business rescue; and the minister of communications, Faith Muthambi.

The group argued in court that ODM and StarTimes Media are contravening the Films and Publications Act by exposing children to X18 content on television.

Icasa granted ODM a licence to broadcasting its bouquet of porn channels in April 2013 after StarSat brought a second application to show porn on TV to subscribers. Out of the 644 written application, over 90% opposed the granting of a porn TV licence to StarSat.

StarSat started showing Playboy TV, Desire TV and Private Spice as a stand-alone sex bouquet which requires a separate subscription and PIN. StarSat quietly changed Private Spice to the Brazzers TV channel.

The sex TV channel shows pornographic material entitled "Young Harlots: Carnal Education", "Backdoor Bikini MILFs", "Girls Behaving Badly" and "The Secret Lives of Kept Wives".

StarSat has previously declined to give subscription numbers for its porn bouquet but according to court papers has about 400 subscribers.

"The true content of the material wasn't told to Icasa," says Darryl Cooke of Jasa. "These programmes are promoting infidelity, unsafe sex and not what was represented to Icasa and the public".

The group also argues that assurances given by On Digital Media regarding Playboy TV UK that it complied with laws are not the case and that ODM knew it.

"We have, over a period of six years, repeated breaches. They are a serial offender. We are told in these reports that they are reckless and that they are repeated breachers".

Darryl Cooke said Icasa still had the discretion to refuse to authorise porn on South African television and to balancing the rights to freedom of expression with the rights of children and the need to avoid harm.

The group's advocate Murray Bridgman argued that ODM and StarSat had admitted it was likely or may well happen that children would view their pornography.

Murray Bridgman said that pornography is an issue that impacts on all South Africancommunities as a whole and on the constitutional rights to dignity, equality and security.

"[There was] one public hearing, one city, one day. Not good enough. There should have been meetings in each of the nine provinces and there should have been a far greater level of engagement".

Murray Bridgman argued that Icasa's advert in the Government Gazette inviting public comment did not even mention that StarSat's sex channels were to broadcast porn. If the public wanted to view the application, they had to make a photocopy at Icasa’s library in Johannesburg.

"If this had been done right, there would have been 1 649 objections," He said that the public hearing in March 2013 gave inadequate time to objectors and denied the Film and Publication Board (FPB) the chance to make oral submissions over ODM's application for porn channels.

Icasa's special committee was criticised for not appointing experts and inspectors to investigate the content of StarSat's porn TV channels and to make sure it abided by certain criteria.

Opposition grows against StarSat's pornographic TV channels; court case to have porn TV license reversed, likely to be heard in August.

Opposition in South Africa has been growing against the pornographic television that is broadcast by On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat pay-TV platform, with a court case that will likely be heard in August in a now joint application to have ODM's license for a porn bouquet revoked.

ODM, with the help of its new Chinese financial backer StarTimes, started broadcasting two pornographic TV channels - Private Spice and Playboy TV - in a separate StarSat sex TV package of R159 per month in November 2013, shortly after receiving a license from the South African broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa).

On Digital Media, asked last week how many StarSat subscribers have since subscribed to the porn TV channels as a separate bouquet over the course of the last 6 months, declined to provide subscriber numbers, citing confidential company information.

Subscriber numbers for the four year old Woodmead based South African pay-TV operator, currently in business rescue, is down to between 100 000 and 120 000 from 150 000 a few years ago.

The non-govermental organisation Doctors for Life, representing 1 400 doctors, that submitted its separate court application at the High Court in Pretoria, has now seen its application being joined to the applications of the Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa) and the Cause for Justice organisations that submitted their applications in the Western Cape High Court.

Jasa and Cause for Justice argue that South Africa's broadcasting regulator - which first denied ODM's porn channels application and then approved it during a second application a year later - erred in law in failing to find that the constitutional rights of children should have trumped the rights of StarSat's freedom of expression.

Doctors for Life in court papers argues among other things about the addictive nature of pornography. Doctors for Life notes the addictive nature of pornography on the human brain, similar to that of drugs like heroin, cocaine and LSD.

Jasa's application requests the court to review the broadcasting regulator's decision in granting a license for porn television channels to StarSat, formerly the TopTV brand, and for Icasa to apply the law and broadcasting regulations correctly.

The Justice Alliance of South Africa wants court to review the decision to allow On Digital Media (ODM) and StarSat to broadcast pornography.

The Justice Alliance of South Africa (JASA) on Friday filed court papers in the Western Cape High Court to get On Digital Media (ODM) running the TopTV, now rebranded to StarSat, South African satellite pay-TV operator to stop broadcasting its bouquet of pornographic sex channels in the country.

JASA is bringing the application against ODM, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), the minister of communications and ODM's business rescue practitioner, Peter van den Steen.

JASA wants the court to review Icasa's decision to grant ODM a license to broadcast sex channels in South Africa from 20:00 until 05:00. JASA says Icasa is required in terms of Section 192 of the Constitution to regulate broadcasting in the public interest and to ensure fairness and a diversity of views broadly representing South African society.

JASA says that the so-called "watershed period" during which Icasa allowed ODM to broadcast pornography on TopTV or now StarSat - from 20:00 to 05:00 - doesn't guarantee that children will not be exposed.

"JASA submits that pornographic channels, such as those which ODM applied to broadcast, are extremely unsuitable for children." According to JASA the average bedtime for children aged about 16 is 22:30.

"Significant percentages of children between the ages of 10and 19 watch television after 20:00. It would appear that in allowing the broadcasting of the pornographic channels from 20:00, Icasa did not have regard to the large percentages of children who watch television after 20:00, and who are awake until about 22:30."