The televised sex line (also described as babe shows/channels) is a style of pornographic television programming that has developed in Europe since 2001. 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.
Many almost-identical programmes have established themselves in Europe (mainly on Hot Bird) since 2001, and in the United Kingdom (mainly on Sky) since the beginning of Babestation in 2002. These mainly aim for profits, at the expense of production values, which are rarely high. The presenters of shows are often glamour models, fetish models or porn stars, and have included Lexi Lowe, Lolly Badcock, Cathy Barry, Michelle Moist, Bexsi CW, Dani Thompson, Alice Goodwin, Paige Green, Lucy Summers, Letesha Collins, Sammi-Jo Wilson, Darcy Palmer, Ashley Emma, Tori Lee and Sophia Knight.
In the UK Ofcom classes TV programs which encourage viewers to call presenters live on a premium rate telephone number as advertisements and the regulations applicable to advertisements apply to these channels rather than the rules for editorial content. This restricts what may be said and shown on-air on unencrypted channels more stringently than if the content were a normal program. However regulation of adult TV channels has not been devolved to the Advertising Standards Authority. Ofcom regulates these channels directly.
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 Europe, where the focus is more on the phone calls, and profit made from them.
SexySat TV, claimed to be "the first European liveshow channel on satellite", began in the Netherlands, broadcasting from 14:00 to 02:00.
December 3: Babestation was first broadcast from 11pm-1am on Game Network UK,
Other programs 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 programs.
In the UK:
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 acts including oral sex, and use dildos.
Outside the UK:
August 4: SexySat TV moved from the Netherlands to Prague, Czech Republic, which reduced the explicitness of broadcasts.
August: Diva Futura went on-the-air in Italy.
October 22: eUrotic TV began in Austria, with production site and models based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Its role was "to sell subscriptions for encrypted channels including Inxtc.tv and Xplus tv".
By this time, Game Network had allowed Babestation (and other profitable non video game-related programs like Psychic Interactive) to dominate its schedule. On February 20, Game Network ceased to exist, and the channel was renamed "Babestation". On February 28, 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 such as 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.
November 9: ICSTIS fined a variety of daytime chat-line service providers for breaches of phone line regulations – LiveLines UK Ltd, who ran daytime show Housebabes Live (and Office Babe and Hospital Reception until September 28, 2006) were fined a total of £85,000; Datapro Services Ltd, £3,000 for Office Babe; Com & Tel Ltd, £25,000 (lowered after appeal) and 2ergo, £5,000, for Babedate and Mobibabes; and Eckoh Technologies, £10,000 for Babeworld (daytime version, which still contained sexually-explicit phone conversations). [4]
November 24: 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.
SportXXXbabes and House of Fun TV introduced 'live pixelisation' – blurring of a part of the screen. This allowed them to feature explicit content (masturbation and oral sex between presenters) without breaking rules, because aroused genitals were not seen.
February: House Of Fun TV also introduced Boys Next Door, the first all-male gay porn on a British televised sex line, broadcast only twice (on Tuesday nights). This featured simulated anal sex, and (pixelised) real masturbation and oral sex between three male presenters.
The websites of Babestation, Babecast and Sex Station began to simulcast content. Although most of this was repeated material previously televised on Sex Station, there was also the introduction of a daytime webcast from 11:00 until 20:30, with sexually-explicit content and language that would be too strong to be televised, featuring up to three female presenters.
3G technology was introduced to televised sex lines, which allows some presenters to see some of the callers who are talking to them.
Sex Station extended its web show to 24 hours a day.
Bisexuality (or pretended 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]".
Eurotic TV, a channel operating under an Austrian licence on Astra and Hotbird, had been allowed to broadcast large amounts of female nudity, softcore porn and moderate sexual content with female models from 2004 to 2008. Regulations forced the channel to remove nudity from its daytime shows from 2008–09 onwards; the adult program now begins at 11 pm CET and lasts until 3 am.
During the daytime, most Sky adult channels broadcast "chat line" or "date line" programs, 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 [5], made the 'transition' from daytime to nighttime.
The 8–9 pm hour (before the watershed) features fewer phone-ins on the adult channels.
Defunct:
Defunct:
Netherlands
Defunct:
On Sky:
On Freeview:
Daytime chat lines:
Defunct televised sex lines:
