TopTV ready for porn hearing

Johannesburg - An application by TopTV to broadcast three pornography channels will be heard by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) on Thursday, the pay-television operator said.

"TopTV are gearing themselves to present their case," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

"TopTV hopes to launch a bouquet of three subscription-based channels that will offer South African viewers a choice to view adult entertainment... in the privacy of their homes."

It argued that South Africans had the constitutional right to choose what they watched, and it argued that adult content was freely available on the internet, without any protection for children.

TopTV previously applied to Icasa to air the porn channels, but received no response for two months. It then decided to go ahead without Icasa's permission.

Icasa then made an urgent application to the High Court in Johannesburg, which ruled that TopTV could not broadcast the channels until Icasa had made a decision.

In December 2011, Christian organisations, including the Evangelical Alliance of SA and the Methodist Church of SA, planned a boycott of TopTV, its advertisers and sponsors, after the move was announced.

Family Policy Institute director Errol Naidoo said the broadcast of hardcore pornography on television degraded women and exposed children to harmful content.