Trans Digital Media (TDM), a new joint venture between Blue Horizon Media (BHM), publisher of Cheri, High Society and Playgirl magazines, and Mark Graff, CEO of Blu-TV and founder of Spice TV, is creating three new adult cable channels.
TDM hopes to debut Cheri TV, High Society TV and Playgirl TV in the first quarter of 2004. Initially they will be video on demand channels and later will become pay-per-view.
"All of the VOD programming will be presented in a magazine format, which will include original content, segmented programs and interviews and behind the scenes in the adult world," Carmine Bellucci, Senior Vice President of BHM, told AVN.com. "Normally on VOD you pay your $8.99 or whatever it may be and you get a 90-minute movie. We are putting together magazine format — each channel will be like Entertainment Tonight, with five different segments, all hardcore, all XX-rated, but it's not just 90 minutes of a movie."
Playgirl TV is being billed as "the first adult network for women."
"This will have the world famous Playgirl pictorials, which will come to life," Bellucci said. "There will also be hot video profiles of our centerfolds and Man of the Year, some of our group shoots like Campus Hunks, the hottest bodies chosen from around the country. There will be segments on Playgirl TV like Women on Women, because there's a lot of women in the porn industry now as producers, directors and writers, as well as stars, and we're going to tap into that. We'll also have segments of readers' erotic encounters; Playgirl gets a lot of letters from readers expressing their fantasies and we will bring them to life."
Bellucci called High Society TV "the first international adult network."
"It will be exclusive, never-before-seen erotic programming featuring beautiful women from around the world," he explained. "A lot of what's out on cable now is coming out of Porn Valley. High Society TV will have a strong European flair to it."
He said that Cheri TV will be similar to the publication, featuring "a lot of behind-the-scenes action, private shoots — it's an all-access pass to erotic events all around the world. More behind the scenes stuff, more events. Also we'll be peeking into different alternative lifestyles, underground sex clubs."
"We have 30-plus years of publishing in the adult arena and we bring that expertise with us," Bellucci said. "It makes Blue Horizon and Graff the perfect team "
Longtime High Society Editor in Chief Vincent Stevens has been named TDC's production coordinator.
TDM previously bought Super 1 from European producer Mario Pollak. TDM launched Super 1, a fully interactive network available via satellite and streamed on broadband, in Europe on November 1.
Producers should contact Vincent Stevens for more information. Trans Digital Media: 212-661-7878, www.tdmllc.com
