An application for leave to appeal a court ruling on the licensing of three pornographic pay channels will be heard in the Western Cape high court next month.
The application by On Digital Media (ODM) will be heard by judge Lee Bozalek on 5 December.
At the beginning of the month, Bozalek ordered communications regulator Icasa to review its decision taken last year to license ODM’s porn channels.
ODM (operating as Top TV and later StarSat) was granted three licences on 23 April last year to broadcast Playboy TV, Desire TV and Brazzers, subject to conditions.
Icasa’s issuing of the licences was challenged by the Justice Alliance of South Africa (Jasa), Doctors for Life and Cause for Justice, which argued that Icasa erred in making its decision.
Icasa and ODM were ordered to pay the applicants’ costs. ODM was appealing the whole order, including that of costs.
In its appeal application, ODM argued that Icasa’s decision was only invalid insofar as it failed to prohibit ODM from broadcasting films that had been classified as “X18”, in accordance with the Film and Publications Act.
“There was no reason this aspect of the decision could not be remedied by means of severance,” it argued in the application.
It believed that remitting the decision back to Icasa would lead to unnecessary delay, prejudice and costs. — Sapa
