In broadcasting, the watershed is the time of day after which programming with content deemed suitable only for mature or adult audiences is permitted. In the same way that a geological watershed divides two drainage basins, a broadcasting watershed serves as a dividing line in a schedule between family-friendly content, and content deemed suitable only for a more mature audience, such as programs containing objectionable content; this can include graphic violence, strong language, and sexual content, or strong references to those themes, even if they are not shown explicitly. The transition to more adult material must not be unduly abrupt and the strongest material should appear later in the evening.
Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, its high-definition variant is offered only as a pay television service.
The pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
Television X (TVX) is a series of adult pay-per-view television channels in the United Kingdom owned by Aylo Global Entertainment (Europe) Limited. Until 2020, it was owned by Portland TV which was a subsidiary of Richard Desmond's publishing company Northern & Shell until 2016. All of the programmes on the main Television X channel are filmed and produced in the United Kingdom.
Fox was a British pay television channel serving the United Kingdom and Ireland, owned by Fox Networks Group, a unit of Disney International Operations. It launched on 12 January 2004 as FX289, then changed its name to FX in April 2005, and rebranded to FOX in January 2013. Featuring a mix of comedies and drama series, the channel's programming targeted adults from 18 to 35 years old.
Playboy TV is a pay television channel based in the United States.
Trouble was a subscription television channel operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland that was owned and operated by Virgin Media Television.
Playboy One was a free-to-air satellite television channel in the United Kingdom operated by Playboy TV UK/Benelux Limited that broadcast on Sky Digital from November 2005 until the end of September of 2008. It was the only permanently free-to-air television station operated by any associated subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises.
The Spice Networks are a group of television channels operated on a pay-per-view basis that broadcast pornographic content. The channels are owned by the adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo, but they were originally launched by Playboy Enterprises in March 1994. They are available via cable, IPTV, and satellite in over 72 countries including the United States and formerly New Zealand.
Babestation is an adult chat television channel and programme block which has aired on television in the United Kingdom since 2002. Since 2015, Babestation has also had a complementary website that includes more options than those available on the TV channel. The television version was the first show of its kind in the UK allowing viewers to communicate live with female presenters via a premium-rate telephone number or text messaging. It is broadcast daily, and since 2006 has had a dedicated channel on Sky. Its sister stations and websites are more hardcore in nature but the main programme shown on TV is also streamed on the Internet via the Babestation websites.
TCM Movies was a British pay television channel, focussing mostly on classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and Warner Bros. film libraries, which included many MGM titles, along with movie-related profiles and some classic American television series.
Sex Station is a pornographic British adult chat television programme. It began broadcasting in 2006 on Sky Digital at night on the Lucky Star channel and the Live XXX channel. By 2013 it had ceased television broadcasting but it continues to stream content on the Internet.
In the United Kingdom, pornography is regulated by a variety of laws, regulations, judicial processes, and voluntary schemes. Pornographic material generally has to be assessed by regulators or courts to determine its legality. British censorship laws with regard to pornography have often been some of the most restrictive in Western Europe.
MTV Live is the international version of the American TV channel MTV Live as 24-hour high-definition live music pay television network owned by Paramount International Networks subsidiary Paramount Networks EMEAA.
Home Video Channel (HVC) was a British cable television channel that began operating in 1985, broadcasting low-budget films between 8:00 p.m. and midnight. Film genres included horror, action, adventure, science fiction, and erotica. In 1992, a second channel, The Adult Channel, was launched by HVC's owner, Home Video Channel Limited (HVCL). It broadcast erotic films and softcore pornography.
Aylo is a Canadian multinational pornographic conglomerate owned by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. It is primarily involved in internet pornography, operating a number of video sharing websites, and pornographic film studios such as Brazzers, Digital Playground, Men.com, Reality Kings, Sean Cody, and WhyNotBi.com, among others. Aylo's headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but the company's corporate structure is divided among entities domiciled in a number of other countries.
TVX 40+ is a British television channel that shows pornographic content on a pay-per-view basis. The channel has been owned by Aylo Global Entertainment (Europe) Limited since 2020 when Aylo acquired the channel's previous owner, Portland TV.
Portland TV was a British adult television company that provided subscription and pay-per-view services to UK audiences on the Sky UK, Virgin TV and Freeview platforms.
Adult chat television channels and programs are a format of phone-in live television programming that has developed in Europe since 2002, often having elements similar to webcam modelling and softcore pornography.
