Playboy to Launch Spice HDTV
Playboy TV's president said earlier this year that some adult actresses are not "pretty enough" for High-Definition TV.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (Dec. 2) -- Did the girls get prettier?
Playboy announced today that it would launch Spice HD, a High-Definition TV channel, on December 4. The channel, the first adult high-def network, will debut on Cablevision's Voom satellite TV service. (Playboy Enterprises owns both the Playboy Channel and Spice.)
Today's announcement comes as a surprise. Playboy TV President Jim English said in an interview last July that his company was not planning to launch a HDTV channel anytime soon.
Why?
English said that some adult film stars would not look very attractive through the naked lens of HDTV. The technology delivers a picture so clear that many have compared it to looking through a window.
"A lot of the girls are not that pretty. You can only do so much with hair and make-up," English said in an interview with TVPredictions.com. "HDTV is perfect for National Geographic and the National Football League where you don't expect people to be pretty. But adult films are all about the close-up. With surgeries and implants, I don't know if you want to see everything in HDTV."
According to sources, English's comments upset Playboy CEO Christie Hefner and other executives at Playboy's Chicago headquarters.
"They were going crazy in Chicago," one Playboy source said. "They thought Jim had damaged the Playboy image."
The source said that English was referring to actresses on the Spice channel rather than the Playboy channel. Spice offers a more hard core lineup than Playboy.
It is unclear if English's remarks had an impact on Playboy's decision to enter the HDTV market.
In a press release issued Tuesday, Jeff Jennets, general manager of Playboy's Spice Digital Networks division, said: "Offering our exclusive programming in this contemporary format will not only provide our viewers with cutting edge entertainment, it will also provide additional revenue streams for our affiliates."
Spice HD will offer more than 1,200 hours of HDTV programs, featuring live daily shows such "Spice Clips."
Despite the negative reaction from Playboy headquarters, English's comments reflected a growing concern in Hollywood. TVPredictions.com reported last month that make-up artists are searching for new techniques to cover up the facial imperfections of celebrities when they appear in high-def.
However, many HDTV observers have predicted that the adult industry could generate additional revenue by launching high-def networks. In fact, Nicholas Steele, the director of "Sex Spell" and "Whispering Hearts," says that HDTV could be the best thing to happen to the adult industry since Viagra.
"When you're dealing with skin tones and bodies and things like that, you want it to look nice," said Steele, who has made 23 X-rated films in HDTV. "When a guy is sitting down with his lady, quality matters. HDTV will make a huge difference [in pay-per-view buy rates]."
Phillip Swann is President & Publisher of TVPredictions.com and a weekly columnist for Television Week. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at Swann@TVPredictions.com.
Click News for more of today's developments in the world of new TV technology.
Playboy TV's president said earlier this year that some adult actresses are not "pretty enough" for High-Definition TV.
By Phillip Swann
Washington, D.C. (Dec. 2) -- Did the girls get prettier?
Playboy announced today that it would launch Spice HD, a High-Definition TV channel, on December 4. The channel, the first adult high-def network, will debut on Cablevision's Voom satellite TV service. (Playboy Enterprises owns both the Playboy Channel and Spice.)
Today's announcement comes as a surprise. Playboy TV President Jim English said in an interview last July that his company was not planning to launch a HDTV channel anytime soon.
Why?
English said that some adult film stars would not look very attractive through the naked lens of HDTV. The technology delivers a picture so clear that many have compared it to looking through a window.
"A lot of the girls are not that pretty. You can only do so much with hair and make-up," English said in an interview with TVPredictions.com. "HDTV is perfect for National Geographic and the National Football League where you don't expect people to be pretty. But adult films are all about the close-up. With surgeries and implants, I don't know if you want to see everything in HDTV."
According to sources, English's comments upset Playboy CEO Christie Hefner and other executives at Playboy's Chicago headquarters.
"They were going crazy in Chicago," one Playboy source said. "They thought Jim had damaged the Playboy image."
The source said that English was referring to actresses on the Spice channel rather than the Playboy channel. Spice offers a more hard core lineup than Playboy.
It is unclear if English's remarks had an impact on Playboy's decision to enter the HDTV market.
In a press release issued Tuesday, Jeff Jennets, general manager of Playboy's Spice Digital Networks division, said: "Offering our exclusive programming in this contemporary format will not only provide our viewers with cutting edge entertainment, it will also provide additional revenue streams for our affiliates."
Spice HD will offer more than 1,200 hours of HDTV programs, featuring live daily shows such "Spice Clips."
Despite the negative reaction from Playboy headquarters, English's comments reflected a growing concern in Hollywood. TVPredictions.com reported last month that make-up artists are searching for new techniques to cover up the facial imperfections of celebrities when they appear in high-def.
However, many HDTV observers have predicted that the adult industry could generate additional revenue by launching high-def networks. In fact, Nicholas Steele, the director of "Sex Spell" and "Whispering Hearts," says that HDTV could be the best thing to happen to the adult industry since Viagra.
"When you're dealing with skin tones and bodies and things like that, you want it to look nice," said Steele, who has made 23 X-rated films in HDTV. "When a guy is sitting down with his lady, quality matters. HDTV will make a huge difference [in pay-per-view buy rates]."
Phillip Swann is President & Publisher of TVPredictions.com and a weekly columnist for Television Week. If you would like to contact Mr. Swann, he can be reached at Swann@TVPredictions.com.
Click News for more of today's developments in the world of new TV technology.
