Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, sex films, 18+ films, or also known as blue films, are films that represent sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse, fascinate, or satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films represent sexual fantasies and usually include erotically stimulating material such as nudity (softcore) and sexual intercourse (hardcore). A distinction is sometimes made between "erotic" and "pornographic" films on the basis that the latter category contains more explicit sexuality, and focuses more on arousal than storytelling; the distinction is highly subjective.
Private Media Group, Inc. is a Swedish production and distribution company that distributes adult entertainment via print publications, DVDs, and the Internet. It first published a magazine called Private in Stockholm in 1965.
Pornography has existed since the origins of the United States, and has become more readily accessible in the 21st century. Advanced by technological development, it has gone from a hard-to-find "back alley" item, beginning in 1969 with Blue Movie by Andy Warhol, the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984) and home video, to being more available in the country and later, starting in the 1990s, readily accessible to nearly anyone with a computer or other device connected to the Internet. The U.S. has no current plans to block explicit content from children and adolescents, as many other countries have planned or proceeded to do.
CHCH-DT is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jackson and Caroline streets in downtown Hamilton for nearly 65 years. The station has additional offices at the Marriott on the Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Its old transmitter was located on First Road West in the former city of Stoney Creek; it was demolished in March 2024 and replaced with a new transmitter located on Highway 5 near Millgrove Side Road in Dundas, Ontario, which started transmitting in November 2023.
Jeff Stryker is an American porn star who has starred in bisexual, gay, and straight adult films. He lives in California.
Playmen TV is a Canadian English language specialty channel. It is a premium adult entertainment television channel aimed at gay men, with programming consisting mainly of adult films and adult-related television series. It originally launched in 2005 as a spin-off from PrideVision, leaving the channel to focus on lifestyle and entertainment programming serving the LGBT community.
Kelli Rachelle McCarty Oseen is an American actress, model, photographer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 1991. She then reached the Top 6 at Miss Universe 1991, representing the United States. McCarthy has appeared as Beth Wallace on the soap opera Passions (1999–2006). After Passions, McCarthy began working as a Pornographic film actor, in a number of softcore and hardcore films, in an exclusive contract with Vivid Entertainment.
Titan Media is an independent San Francisco–based gay pornographic studio founded by director and cinematographer Bruce Cam and Robert Kirsch (1961–2001) in 1995.
In Japan, Adult Videos (AV) are sex or nudity themed videos distinguishable from Toei porno feature films, Nikkatsu Roman Porno feature films, indie studio pink films, and less sex-centred 'V-cinema' or other Original Videos (OV). Adult videos feature sex or nudity, and may not in some cases have a storyline. They are released initially on video, and pass inspection by an adult video ethics committee originally the Nihon Ethics of Video Association (NEVA), which enforced the placement of video-masking mosaics over pubic hair or genitalia. Toei Porno, Nikkatsu Roman Porno and Pink films are also often concerned with sex, but they are shown first in movie theatres, and are rated by Eirin, rather than an adult video ethics organization. The mainstream studio Nikkatsu filmed its Roman Porno line from 1971 through 1988. V-cinema or OV also tend to have a story, but sex if present is less central, and they were released directly to VHS or recently DVD, Blu-Ray or streaming without being first shown in a movie theatre. Many V-cinema works are produced by video-focused subsidiaries of the big film studios, e.g. SHV Cinema for Shochiku. OV can be rated by the Eirin or Eizourin depending on the content.
Gay TV was an encrypted subscription channel from the UK that broadcast over Sky and Virgin Media television platform from 20:00 to 05:30 daily, targeted at gay men.
Pink Visual is an independent reality and gonzo pornography film production company, based in Van Nuys, California, United States. It began as an Internet pornography provider before eventually moving into DVD production. Pink Visual also licenses adult content to cable, satellite, pay-per-view, hotel chain channels, and other Internet content licensees. Currently marketing their content with the tagline of "Raw. Raunchy. Real.", Pink Visual content is largely reality-based, taking inspiration from reality television. Pink Visual's porn productions typically utilize amateur performers and are shot in a 'Pro-am' style, utilizing digital video, including the high definition format.
Kurt Lockwood is an American pornographic actor and director, model, and musician.
Steven Scarborough is an American gay pornographic film director, the founder of Hot House Entertainment (1993), and he was an Executive Vice-President and director for Falcon Studios from 1987 to 1993.
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.
OUTtv is a Canadian English language specialty channel and streaming network that was launched in September 2001. The brand focuses on general entertainment and lifestyle programming serving Canadian and international LGBT+ communities.
Cazzo Film is a German pornographic film studio based in Berlin. The company has been producing gay pornographic films since 1996.
Rod Barry is a former pornographic actor and director from the United States who has been credited in over 150 pornographic films and internet-based shows since entering the industry in 1996. Most of Barry's appearances have been in the gay pornography genre, but he has appeared in bisexual, transsexual and heterosexual videos. In 2008, he was inducted into the gay pornography industry's Hall of Fame.
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.
