Televised sex line
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The televised sex line (also described informally as "pay-as-you-go soft porn"[1] or babe shows[2]) is a style of pornographic television programme that has developed in the United Kingdom since 2002. Broadcast live from a studio, the shows usually feature female presenters advertising a phone sex line at a premium rate, through which callers can also see the woman they are talking to on the screen. Viewers can rarely hear the phone conversations, although some programmes have presenters talking, unscripted, to the camera, and responding to viewers' text messages and camera phone photos.
Since the beginning of Babestation in 2002, many almost-identical programmes have established themselves, mainly on Sky Digital (UK & Ireland), and mainly aiming for profits, at the expense of production values, which are never high. The presenters of shows are often glamour models or porn stars, and have included Lolly Badcock, Cathy Barry, Angel Long, Michelle Monaghan, Dani O'Neal, Faye Rampton and Nina Roberts.
Contents |
[edit] History
- A fuller history of Babestation is included in its article.
[edit] 1995
- In the US, Playboy TV started Night Calls, a phone-in show where viewers could 'direct' the presenters (all female porn stars) in sexual acts on the air. However, this was not quite the same format as the one currently used in Britain, where the focus is more on the phone calls, and profit made from them.
[edit] 2002
- 3 December: Babestation was first broadcast from 11pm-1am on Game Network UK, with one girl presenting, and two taking calls (unheard by the viewers).
[edit] 2003
- Other programmes such as Babecast[1] (on Friendly TV) and Fast Girls (Motors TV UK) began in late-night timeslots. These were usually on channel nos 150-250 on the Sky EPG[2], and gradually became more daring in portraying nudity and masturbation (although they were by no means hardcore).
- Babestation's running time was extended to include a "late babe" hour, with only one girl taking calls on full screen; to avoid the conversation being heard by viewers, background music was played, as continues to be the case on other programmes.
[edit] 2004
- A number of the "true" or dedicated adult channels (whose channel no. was around 900, such as Live XXX Tv[3]) started to run up to 2½ hours of free-to-view live phone-ins, encouraging viewers to sign up to the subscription for the channel, before becoming encrypted. Then, the porn stars from the earlier show would engage in hardcore acts like oral sex, and use dildos.
[edit] 2006
- By this time, Game Network had allowed Babestation (and other profitable non video game-related programmes like Psychic Interactive) to dominate its schedule.
- 20 February: Game Network ceased to exist, and the channel was renamed "Babestation".
- 28 February: Sky moved all adult or predominantly-adult channels to channel nos 900-970, so all channels showing late-night babe shows are now alongside established adult channels like Television X.
- During the daytime, some channels show teleshopping or quiz channels, while many of the newly-moved channels decided to start showing "softer" daytime babe shows, with some of the same presenters as at night (e.g. Babedate). They still take premium-rate phone calls, but usually wear bikinis (and keep them on), and cannot make sexual gyrations.
- Television X's TVX Callgirls Live became the first "babe show" to introduce male porn stars on-screen. They co-presented a free-to-view preview for two hours, with an alternating female presenter (two other girls take calls), then, in the live finale for subscribing viewers, had sex with one of the female presenters on air after encryption.
- 24 November: British television regulator Ofcom imposed a £175,000 fine on Look4Love, owners of Babestar TV. In 2006, Babestar had become one of the more explicit free-to-view nighttime channels, containing use of sex toys and oral sex between female presenters, although the content could still just be considered "softcore". Ofcom's problem was actually with Babestar's concentration on the "barely-legal" status of an 18-year-old presenter. [4]
- 29 November: LiveLines UK, who run daytime shows including Office Babe, were fined £138,000 by ICSTIS for breaches of phone line regulations. [5]
[edit] 2007
- SportXXXbabes and House Of Fun TV introduced 'live pixelisation' - blurring of a part of the screen. This allows them to feature explicit content (masturbation and oral sex between presenters) without breaking rules, because aroused genitals are not seen.
- February: House Of Fun TV also introduced the first all-male gay porn on a televised sex line, Boys Next Door, broadcast for once only. This features simulated anal sex, and (pixelised) real masturbation and oral sex between three male presenters.
[edit] Daytime chat lines
During the daytime, most Sky Digital adult channels broadcast "chat line" or "date line" programmes, where viewers can call female presenters, still at the premium rate, but rarely including sexual content or conversation so they cannot be classed as "sex lines". The presenters are sometimes the same as on nighttime sex lines; some, like French Bangbabes presenter Chloe[6], made the 'transition' from daytime to nighttime.
The 8pm-9pm hour (before the watershed) features few phone-ins on the adult channels.
[edit] List of televised sex lines
[edit] United Kingdom
- On Sky Digital:
| Channel (no.) | Show title | Format | Website |
| Babestation (906) | Babestation | 4 or 5 girls rotating, presenting Split-screen |
[7] |
| Friendly TV (908) | Babecast | As Babestation | [8] |
| Babeworld TV (909) | Babeworld | 3 or 4 girls presenting All on same bed |
[9] |
| Get Lucky TV (910) | Babestation 2 | As Babestation | |
| Lucky Star (911) | Sex Station | 2 or 3 girls taking calls on same bed Rotating with XXX 4 U' Sometimes features "strips" if enough viewers text |
[10] |
| You TV 2[3] (913) | XXX 4 U | 1 girl from Sex Station taking calls Not to be confused with DVD retailer XXX4U |
[11] |
| You TV 2 Extra (914) | XXX 4 U | Shows the same thing as You TV 2 | |
| Turn On TV (915) | Bangbabes | 2 girls taking calls on same bed Rotating with ch. 961 |
[12] |
| Star Bazaar TV (919) | McQueen's Angels | 4 girls taking calls on same bed | |
| sportXXXbabes (923, 941/2) | Live & European | 2 or 3 girls taking calls, having sex (pixelised) Encrypted at 12 midnight |
(old) |
| Babestar+ (960) | Babestar XXX | 2 girls taking calls on same bed | [13] |
| Star Bazaar TV (961) | Bangbabes | 2 girls taking calls, rotating with ch. 915 | |
| House Of Fun TV (962) | Just Girly, Boys Next Door |
2 or 3 presenters (all female or all male) taking calls Also features sex and masturbation (pixelised) |
[14] |
On Freeview:
| Channel | Show title | Format | Website |
| Smile TV | Party People | "TV dating/chat line", runs 1am-3am Features non-sexual content Viewers can talk to presenter and apparently arrange dates |
[15] |
Daytime chat lines:
| Channel (no.) | Show title |
| Babestation (906) Friendly TV (908) Get Lucky TV (910) |
Lads Lounge, Party People |
| Babeworld TV (909) | Day Chat |
| Turn On TV (915) | The Honey Pot, Office Babe |
Defunct televised sex lines:
| Channel (no.) | Show title | When active | Format | Website |
| Motors TV (now 413) | Fast Girls | 2003 | Run from same studio as Babestation 2 girls took calls, 1 presented Split-screen (plus text-messages) |
|
| Television X 3 (905) | TVX Callgirls Live | 2006 | 2 girls took calls, 2 presented Featured 1 male presenter on Fridays After 11.10pm encryption, they had sex Still exists on encrypted Television X (as TVX Callgirls) |
[16] |
| Gay TV (940) | 2005-06 | 2 boys presented and took calls Encrypted at 10pm |
[edit] Trivia
- Bisexuality has a strong presence on the shows, because the girls are usually taking calls from men but many perform girl-girl porn on-screen, and some have had relationships off-screen; Dani O'Neal said "we're all bisexual here [on Babestation]"[4].
[edit] External links
- XXX4U/Babestar TV, a televised sex line currently available worldwide live on the internet (10pm-4am UK time). Warning: sexual content
- On Myspace: Bang Babes, Babecast TV
[edit] References
- ^ Logofreetv forum debate, 7 December 2002
- ^ Several of their names start with "Babe..."; this phrase was used by Sysmedia teletext on the Babestation channel in 2006.
- ^ Note: there is no longer a You TV (ch. 146, it became Sumo TV, making "You TV 2" a slightly redundant name
- ^ Babestation, August 2006
