The imminent arrival of Psat TV (Porn Satellite Television), a 24-hour “hard core adult entertainment” channel, is being advertised by African Satellite Installations (ASI), which is “calling all TopTV subscribers” to sign up.
According to ASI, the pornography channel will be available to subscribers “soon”, at a cost of R99 a month, and will be broadcast via the Astra4 satellite, the same transmission device used by SA's second pay-TV operator TopTV.
ASI says anyone with a TopTV installation will be able to access the channel, which it punts as “Africa's first hard core adult TV channel” and is urging subscribers to plug the Psat TV decoder into their current TopTV connection.
“It will appear as encrypted on your TopTV decoder. In order to actually get the channel you will need another decoder that will plug into the same dish. You can even loop the decoders together so you don't have to fiddle with cables,” it states.
Psat TV is broadcast from France and includes an opening offer of one channel, French Lover TV, featuring explicit sexual content, all year round, 24 hours a day.
However, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) says neither Psat TV nor ASI have a licence to broadcast the channel in SA. “Regardless of where they are situated, it is illegal to broadcast content within SA without a licence from the authority,” says ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka.
Maleka says ICASA has to date not received any applications for the 24-hour pornography channel that is being advertised.
As such, the service proposed by Psat TV would be in contravention of section seven of the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005. Similarly, use of the Astra4 satellite commissioned for TopTV subscriptions for another service, as ASI encourages subscribers to employ, would constitute illegal activity.
Legal action
Senior vice-president of sales and marketing at TopTV Marius Liebenberg accuses Psat TV of “misusing and misrepresenting the TopTV brand in the marketplace”. He says the company has made urgent submissions to the relevant industry bodies and regulators. “[TopTV] will be launching legal proceedings against Psat TV.”
While the pay-TV operator's holding company, On Digital Media (ODM), confirmed it has submitted an application to ICASA for the authorisation of three additional channels with the intent to broadcast adult content on them, it says it has “absolutely nothing” to do with Psat TV or ASI, and is “shocked by the implied association”.
The pay-TV provider vehemently denies any involvement with the pornography channel, purported to become available to South Africans in January. “[TopTV] is not currently nor has it been in the past, in any discussions with Psat TV regarding an adult content channel to be carried via the TopTV platform.”
He adds that by viewing the channel, subscribers would be conducting an unlawful service by “infringing on TopTV's rights”, as they would be using TopTV's infrastructure without the necessary authorisation. “Further, this would entail unlawfully using a portion of the downlink spectrum that has solely been authorised for use by TopTV.” Without a spectrum licence from ICASA, Psat TV would be operating illegally.
ASI's John Solomon had not commented by the time of publication.
Niche market
Regarding the application for three adult entertainment channels ODM has applied for, the company says they will carry the “highest degree of security”.
TopTV says recent research has shown there is a definite market for adult content and channels among South African viewers, who “have the right to choose what content they view in the privacy of their own homes”.
Liebenberg concludes: “We have established that there is a niche market for such a service and are ensuring that we offer it to potential subscribers in a responsible and secure environment.”
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