Germany's only pay TV broadcaster, Premiere World, whose channels of hard and softcore pornographic films have come under fire from guardians of public morals, has announced a device which the company says forms "an effective and innovative" youth protection in digital television.
Regardless of such criticism, the loss-making Kirch Group's digital platform regards the popularity of sex programs as a locomotive to boost subscriptions and increase pay-per-view revenues.
A study, Youth Protection -- Practice and Acceptance carried out by Professor Bernd Schorb, of Leipzig University and Helga Theunert of the Institute for Media Pedagogical Research and Practice disclosed that 86 percent of Premiere World subscribers consider the technical locking device as "a useful youth protection instrument."
The authors of the study, commissioned by the ALM, a working committee of Germany's state media watchdogs, found to the delight of the Kirch Group that the device formed "a basis for youth protection in digital media."
Operated via the Munich group's d-box, the decoder required for reception of pay TV, the device blocks the transmission signal of the program unless unlocked by a PIN number, in theory known only to adults in the household.
The Munich group's Beta Research division developed the PIN coding system as one answer to the outcry against Premiere World's sex channels, Beate Uhse TV, and the pay-per-view "Blue Movie," classified as threats to young people's morals. According to Germany's state media contract, "real pornography" is banned on German television, without actually defining the term, leaving vast loopholes in media regulations.
In a first reaction from Premiere World, the platform's managing director Ferninard Kayser said "the study confirms our technical pathfinding role in youth protection questions. Through time slot blocking, we have instigated the most effective of all possible youth protection instruments."
At the same time, Kayser called for removal of all slot time programming restrictions for movies classified as youth threatening.
The state media treaty stipulates that such films cannot be shown for age groups 16 before 10pm or 18 before 11pm. But new regulations for pay TV now enable Premiere World to air such restricted films during day and prime time hours provided the set-top blocking device is used.
But in order for the preventative system to be effective, cooperation from the parents is needed to prevent children from discovering the PIN number, which the study said was usually the case. It revealed that a fifth of 14 and 15 age groups were able to operate pay TV, while 40 percent of 16-year-olds had the know-how.
Premiere World also has a separate PIN number for the pay-per-view code which can call up movies on eight channels of the platform.
State media authorities have ruled out any change in the programming slot restrictions for porno films, since the protection device alone is insufficient to protect young people from moral corruption, according to Norbert Schneider, chairman of the state media authority's Directors Conference.
Beate Uhse TV went on the air last March with a "high quality erotic" movie channel on media tycoon Leo Kirch's pay TV platform.
The program includes traditional erotic classics from the Beate Uhse company's video library of international soft and hardcore movies and product from its Swiss partner Erotik Media, which holds the TV rights to more than 3,000 films.
Beate Uhse TV took over the "Blue Channel" slot, which was put on pay-per-view for a DM20 viewing fee.
The death of Beate Rotermund, the company's owner, at the age of 81 last Monday, July 16, in a Zurich hospital, is not expected to affect Premiere World. The former World War II pilot in the German air force founded Beate Uhse AG using her maiden name after the war and built it up into Europe's largest sex shop retailer.
Her unexpected death, which the Flensburg-based company did not disclose until two days later, however did have ramifications regarding the company's shares listed on the Frankfurt exchange.
Market regulations require prompt disclosure of the death of any important company executive that could affect stock prices. In Beate Uhse AG's case, its shares dropped eight percent before her death was made public. The Federal Supervisory Office for Securities (BaWe) is reportedly investigating for possible illegal insider trading.
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