Play TV, the concessionaire of the Playboy erotic channel in Israel, today petitioned the High Court of Justice to revoke the law banning the broadcasting of sex channels on cable and satellite television, and asked the Court to allow it to continue its broadcasts. Play TV argues that it will be caused damages estimated at over $18 million by the amendment.
Play TV claims that the amendment to the Telecommunications Law was sneakily pushed through the Knesset, without any preliminary debate, and without Play TV being allowed to express its position on the issue. Playboy, which broadcasts programming to 175 countries, argues that the discontinuation of sex broadcasts in Israel gravely undermines the Israeli viewer’s right to watch any television program he wishes to see at home.
Play TV says that the law is superfluous, because there is a coding mechanism for protecting minors from sex programs. The company argues that the amendment to the law was passed as a result of the Knesset’s religious factions’ wish to impose their will and their own views of impropriety on Israel’s citizens.
The broadcaster claims that the amendment hurts its freedom of occupation and intellectual rights, after the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting approved the channel over a year ago.
Play TV says it paid Playboy a lot of money for a license to broadcast the channel in Israel, and that it has extensive commitments to third parties. The purchase was made on the basis of the Council for Cable and Satellite Broadcasting’s decision to allow the broadcasting of the channels. The company further points out that the sex channels have been very successful, and that hundreds of thousands of Israelis subscribe to them. The petition was filed through the law offices of Ron Gazit, Rotenberg & Co
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 16 October, 2001.