MIPTV 2011 – CANNES. French based Marc Dorcel is the first adult channel provider to go connected, but others are waiting in the wings to also go smart.
None of the parties wants to go on record, but behind the scenes talks are going on with all the major consumer electronics manufacturers to bring adult apps to their smart TV sets. Broadband TV News understands that at least one more provider wants to go connected.
The question remains if the new apps will also become available in countries where access to hard porn channels is limited due to local regulation.
In Germany, the regulators take a strict view on linear channels, but are more liberal when it comes to on-demand porn content, which is widely available.
In the UK, the two major platforms, Virgin and Sky, only offer soft adult content, although legally they could distribute and sells more explicit channels that are licensed in another European country such as the Netherlands.
By signing deals with CE manufacturers, hard porn channels could legally become available in the UK, both in linear and on-demand form, but this requires active participation of the CE industry.
So far, the industry has been careful. The Marc Dorcel on-demand content is available on Panasonic connected TV sets with Philips, Samsung and Sony to follow soon – but only in a limited number of territories.
Now other providers of hard adult content might be more adventurous by starting to offer access to streaming channels.
