Babestation (labelled Babenation on the

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

EPG Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...

) is an adult chat

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

and programme block which has aired on

television in the United Kingdom Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the Mechanical television#Television demonstrations, first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926 ...

since 2002. Since 2015, Babestation has also had a complementary website that includes more options than those available on the TV channel. The television version was the first show of its kind in the UK allowing viewers to communicate live with female presenters via a

premium-rate telephone number Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers that charge callers higher price rates for select services, including information and entertainment. A portion of the call fees is paid to the service provider, allowing premium calls to be an ...

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible compute ...

. It is broadcast daily, and since 2006 has had a dedicated channel on

. Its sister stations and websites are more

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

in nature but the main programme shown on TV is also

streamed Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on the Internet via the babestation.com website.

History

''Babestation'' began in late 2002, as a post-

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

two-hour programme (11 pm – 1 am) on

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

channel Game Network UK. ''Babestation'' featured two women taking calls (unheard by the TV audience) whilst the rest of the screen was filled by viewers' text messages and one presenter, who improvised and reacted to the messages. On some occasions the three women on screen would take turns as presenter. The programme proved profitable to the channel and ''Babestations makers. In time, ''Babestation'' was given bigger time-slots, becoming a three- and then four-hour-long show (11 pm – 3 am), increasing the number of presenters to four or five per night, and improving the technology (the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

could now put women on full screen, having only been able to show them on one-sixth of it before, and hand-held cameras were introduced, replacing the poorer-quality static remote-controlled ones that were originally used). ''Babestation'' was also sometimes broadcast on the Italian feed of Game Network. This, along with Game Network's waning commitment to

video gaming Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...

programmes (''Psychic Interactive'' was also given a large amount of airtime), caused Game Network to cease to exist in the UK. On 20 February 2006, the channel's name changed to ''Babestation'', and on 28 February the channel was moved by Sky to the new "Adult" section of channels. It is also available on Free-to-air channels under the Adult Section. ''Babestation'' is now owned and operated by Cellcast PLC, a company which was co-founded by Andrew Wilson and Bertrand Folliet in 2002. In 2022 ''Babestation'' carried the broadcast of the

funeral of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

, leaving some viewers confused.

A new type of show

''Babestation'' was a unique style of TV programme in Britain. Despite not being popular, and having low

production values Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, ''Babestation'' produced many clones that can all be seen as originating from its format. These programmes all differ slightly in format and explicitness – ''Babestation'' generally does not show

genitals A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

s, or contain very strong language; since 2004

camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with color cam ...

technology has been used to allow viewers to send in pictures of themselves; and the show has always featured adverts for similar services in its commercial breaks. But the idea is the same – live, simulated sex interspersed with

unscripted ''Unscripted'' is an American comedy-drama series that aired on HBO in early 2005. The series was largely improvised by its performers. It was executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, and Grant Heslov. ''Unscripted'' is the second ...

conversation, advertising a

premium rate Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers that charge callers higher price rates for select services, including information and entertainment. A portion of the call fees is paid to the service provider, allowing premium calls to be an ...

number to phone the women, which makes it a profitable business.

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' accused both presenters and viewers of being "thick" and referred to viewers "begging them to blow kisses and jiggle about a bit". David Nugus author of a privately published study into TV/phone sex channels (Spring 2013), conducted many interviews with the presenters. He found them to be articulate with considerable personality, a necessity for the success of such channels. "Interactive TV, the unlikely sexual revolution" David Nugus 2013.

''Masti Chat''

''Masti Chat'' was a daily program on Babestation which allowed viewers to connect with British Asian women. The name is derived from the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

word मस्ती ', meaning "fun". The program aired in a pre-watershed slot from 1pm until 9pm every day. A night show with more raunchy content was broadcast on Babestation 2 every so often. ''Masti Chat'' was axed in early 2014 and many of the women left. Some of the women remain on Babestation Daytime.

''Dirty Wives''

''Dirty Wives'' was a show on the Sky version of Babestation 2 that was on once or twice a week in the night hours. The programme featured mature women (40+). The show no longer airs on TV or online.

Sister programmes

*''Babecast'' (a.k.a. ''BabeCast XXX'') was broadcast since 2003 on

Friendly TV Friendly TV was a British television channel, owned by Hi2 Limited. Much of the channel's output was made up of interactive programmes and games which allowed user participation by phone or mobile phone using SMS messaging. The channel was lau ...

, and is owned by the same company as ''Babestation'': it is sometimes filmed in the same studio, and presenters rotate between the two programmes. Friendly TV was originally in the 100–200 channel numbers on Sky, but on 28 February 2006 it moved to ch. 908 (now 907), in the Adult section of channels (like Babestation). This channel has been shut down and merged with Babestation. *''Babestation 2'' was broadcast on ch. 909, Get Lucky TV, initially a

phone-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...

quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

channel, although the channel's name now carries the more sexual meaning of " get lucky" because of its content. ''Babestation 2'' features one or two ''Babestation'' presenters; now, instead of dividing up the screen of ''Babestation'', its makers can put women on the extra channel. That channel has since been renamed ''Babestation Blue''. *''Lads Lounge'' (ch. 906) was a daytime format of Babestation that aired during the pre-watershed slot of 5:30 am to 9:00 pm. The program has since been renamed Babestation Daytime and Babestation Daytime Xtra, both of which continue to air to this day. *''Babestation Xtreme'' is a subscription website/TV channel (freeview 174) that features hard core British porn. The program changed its name to Babestation X in 2013, but now goes by the name BSX the current name launched in 2014. The channel airs from 11:00pm to 4:45am every night, with 2 free-views as well. *''Babestation Unleashed'' is an online-only channel featuring more raunchy content (including sex toys and more strong profanity) than the normal program can. Even though it is online only, the BSX channel airs programs from Unleashed sometimes. It was originally known as Sexstation.

References

External links

* * {{British pornography British pornographic television shows Adult chat (television) Cellcast