Even if an urgent court application has been submitted in a bid to halt the broadcast of three pornographic channels via On Digital Media's (ODM's) new pay-TV platform, StarSat, the launch of Playboy TV will still go ahead next month.
This is according to ODM and comes in reaction to an urgent application submitted to the Western Cape High Court by the Justice Alliance of SA (JASA) on Friday.
While JASA says it has requested the court to review the Independent Communications Authority of SA's (ICASA's) ruling that ODM is within its rights to offer pornographic content to consenting adults, ODM says it has yet to be served with papers.
"ODM is currently not aware of any papers having been served on ICASA and can also confirm that it has not been served with papers in this regard."
Furthermore, says ODM, based on legal advice the company has received, it believes "there is no legal basis for any of the purported reliefs sought by the Justice Alliance". The broadcaster adds that it, however, accepts the right of any group to use the powers enshrined in the Constitution to hold institutions like ICASA accountable for their decisions.
ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka says the authority has not yet received documents relating to the matter in question. As to the weight of JASA's argument - as laid out in its application - Maleka says only the court can determine whether an application at this stage could halt the launch of ODM's adult channels, "depending on the merits of the case and when the matter will be heard".
Timing concerns
JASA's court papers state ICASA's decision to allow StarSat (formerly TopTV) to broadcast pornographic channels was "irrational and unconstitutional".
The body, which fights for "morality and justice in SA", says the authority "erred in law in failing to find that the constitutional rights of children were laws of general application which should have trumped the rights of TopTV to freedom of expression".
JASA also contends that fixing a watershed time of 8pm "flies in the face of common sense, bearing in mind that most teenage children finish their homework at about 8pm and then watch TV for an hour or two until bedtime".
ODM says it intends launching its adult offering on 1 December and "will ensure, as it has always made clear, that it abides by the security precautions laid down by ICASA when it granted approval for the adult content channels".
ICASA granted ODM permission to broadcast three pornographic channels in April, on condition that content is only available between 8pm and 5am, and that security measures are put in place to prevent children from accessing the service.
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