Channels originating in the UK
All TV services in the UK (other than the BBC licence-fee funded services and S4C) are required to be licensed by the ITC. The ITC programme code applies to all such services, whether they be terrestrial, cable or satellite (for satellite television, the test is whether the company is based in the UK).
Absolute rules which apply to the content of the services are:
They may not contain material which has been refused a certificate by the British Board of Film Classification;
They may not contain material which has been classified R18 by the BBFC (which means that such videos may only be rented or sold in a licensed sex shop).
Effectively this means no UK television channel may show films which go beyond what is available in video shops or cinemas. The services must also comply with other Programme Code rules: for example, no 18-rated version may be shown before 10pm. Where ‘adult’ material is concerned this is true even in the case of pay-per-view services.
The ITC Programme Code accepts that on a premium subscription channel, which will be available only to viewers who have specifically chosen to receive it, some material of a more adult nature than would be appropriate on a channel more widely available can be permissible between the hours of 10pm and 5.30am.
Granting cable and satellite programme licences for adult channels
The Broadcasting Act 1990 provides that the ITC may only refuse to grant a licence if it appears the proposed service would breach the consumer protection provisions of the Act (s 6.1) or if the applicant was not a ‘fit and proper person’ or in a restricted category, such as a political body.
To receive a licence the applicant must declare he understands the applicable rules and intends to comply with them. The ITC then awards a licence. If conditions are breached the ITC can impose financial penalties and revoke the licence.
The first adult service to be licensed was The Adult Channel which received its licence in November 1991 and began operating in January 1992.
The following services are currently operating:
Television X - The Fantasy Channel Red Hot All Girl
Playboy TV Red Hot Films
The Adult Channel Red Hot Amateur
Spice Red Hot Euro
Spice Extreme Red Hot All Girl
Private Blue Red Hot Wives
Tantalise TV Red Hot UK Talent
Private Girls XXX TV
Amateur Babes
One service, Babylon Blue, obtained a licence and became operational but had its licence revoked by the ITC for failing to pay a fine levied for persistent Programme Code breaches.
Television without Frontiers
The EC Broadcasting Directive (Television without frontiers), as part of the objective of establishing a single market in television, imposes obstacles on the UK taking action against television channels from other European countries. It permits restrictions on channels originating in other member States only in exceptional circumstances. The only kind of programme service which, subject to other conditions, can qualify for such restrictions is one which grossly and manifestly infringes the provisions of the Directive relating to the protection of children.
Section 177 of the Broadcasting Act
Under Section 177 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 the ITC can recommend to the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport that a foreign channel be made the subject of a proscription order if it is satisfied the channel repeatedly offends against good taste and decency. A proscription order makes it a criminal offence in the UK to sell smartcards and decoders or subscriptions, to publish programme information or to advertise the service.
The following channels consisting exclusively of hardcore pornography and marketed in the UK have prompted the ITC to notify the Secretary of State that a proscription order would be appropriate:
Red Hot Television (Red Hot Dutch) Eros TV
TV Erotica (also known as xxxTV) Channel Bizzare
Rendezvous Channel Satisfaction Channel
Satisfaction Club Television Eurotica Rendez Vous
Adult X
Five proscription orders were subsequently issued by the Secretary of State. Most of the remaining services went out of business before orders could be made.
Further references
ITC Publications
ITC Notes: Satellite television (14), Programme channels on cable and satellite (43), Conditional access (45).
ITC Programme Code, January 2002.
ITC News releases: 88/97, 28/98, 96/98.
External Publications
Council of the European Communities. Directive on the co-ordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities. Council Directive 89/552/EEC.
The Foreign Satellite Proscription Order 1993. (S.I. 1993/1024) London: HMSO, 1993 (Subsequent Proscription Orders, issued as Stationery Instruments, are: S.I. 1995/2917; S.I. 1996/2557; S.I. 1998/1865).
June 2003
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