The Spice Networks are a group of

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 ...

s operated on a

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...

basis that broadcast adult and

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

content. The channels are owned by

MindGeek MindGeek (formerly Manwin) is a Luxembourg-based, privately held company with Canada as its center of operations that primarily focuses on pornography. It is owned by Feras Antoon, Bernd Bergmair (Bernard Bergemar), David Marmorstein, and — m ...

, but they were originally launched by

Playboy Enterprises PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...

in March 1994. They are available via

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

, and

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

in over 72 countries including the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and formerly

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

History

The channels first launched in November 1994. By 2005, there were seven channels in the family: Spice, Spice 2, The Hot Network, The Hot Zone, Spice Hot, Spice Live, and Spice Platinum. There were several international networks in the family as well, which included Private Spice in European territories, Spice TV Korea, Spice and Spice 2 in New Zealand, and Adult Channel, Playboy TV UK,

Playboy One Playboy One was a free-to-air satellite television channel in the United Kingdom, and was the only permanently free-to-air television station operated by Playboy Enterprises. The channel launched in November 2005, and was described as a general ...

, and Spice Extreme in the United Kingdom. On November 1, 2006, the US channels were renamed Fresh!, Shorteez,

ClubJenna Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American model, former pornographic film actress, businesswoman, and television personality. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainme ...

and Spice Xcess. The other three networks were shut down. The New Zealand network was renamed Spice Xcess around the same time. In late 2009, Shorteez was renamed to SKiN TV. The UK channels also saw changes around this point – Spice Extreme was removed from the Sky EPG in March 2010, while Playboy One later saw a rebranding to Paul Raymond TV, Top Shelf TV and My Ex-Girlfriends. In November 2011, Playboy Enterprises sold the Spice Networks, along with the namesake

Playboy TV Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States. History The channel first launched on December 9, 1980, as Escapade by Rainbow Programing Services (a joint-venture of four cable companies, ...

channel, and the operating rights to Playboy's websites (excluding the Playboy Cyber Club, which was later shut down) to Manwin (now

). In January 2013, the US networks rebranded with the names of brands owned by MindGeek – Brazzers TV, BangU, RKTV and Mofos. The international networks were later rebranded as well, with Private Spice becoming Brazzers TV Europe and RKTV, My Ex-Girlfriends becoming

Babes and Brazzers Babes and Brazzers is an adult pay-per-view channel that broadcasts pornographic content, and is part of the international division of the Spice Networks owned by MindGeek. The network originally launched as Paul Raymond TV in October 2008, a ...

, and Spice Xcess in New Zealand rebranding under Brazzers TV which later ceased broadcasting. The South Korean version of Spice TV remains the only Spice Networks channel that still broadcasts under the name.

References

External links

Playboy Enterprises Inc.: Corporate Overview
archived 26 March 2006

MindGeek Television networks in the United States Defunct New Zealand television channels Television channels and stations established in 1994 Pornographic television channels {{US-tv-stub