Playboy TV

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Playboy TV

Country	United States
Broadcast area	United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel
Programming
Languages	English Spanish
Picture format	480i (SDTV) (Americas) 576i (SDTV) (Europe) 1080i (HDTV) (United States, Latin America and Russia)
Ownership
Owner	Rainbow Programming Services (1980–1983; distribution until 1986) Playboy Inc. (1982–2011) Aylo (2011–present)[1]
History
Launched	1979 (1979)
Former names	Bravo! (1979–1980) Escapade (1980–1982) The Playboy Channel (1982–1989) Playboy at Night (1989–1994)
Links
Webcast	Live TV
Website	Playboy TV

Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States.

The adult-oriented, commercial-free premium channel Bravo! launched in the summer of 1979. Bravo! aired two PG or R-rated B movies twice each night, and debuted at least eight new movies per month.^[2]

The following year, Bravo! was purchased by Rainbow Programing Services, a joint-venture of four cable companies led by Cablevision. Bravo! rebranded as Escapade on December 9, 1980, broadcasting on Tuesday through Saturday nights from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. ET (or as early as 4:00 a.m. on some cable systems). The channel's Sunday and Monday night timeslots and former name were taken by Rainbow's other new pay service Bravo, which featured programming centered around the performing arts, foreign and arthouse films. The satellite time utilized by the two networks was subleased from the National Christian Network.^[3] By July 1981, the service expanded to seven nights a week.^[4]

In August 1981, Playboy Enterprises became half-owner of Escapade and announced a plan to produce original programming that reflected the contents of Playboy magazine beginning in early 1982.^[5] On January 21, 1982, the Playboy Channel on Escapade debuted as a four-hour programming block. The first program was an interview with John and Bo Derek, followed by footage of January playmate Shannon Tweed, the West German adult movie Vanessa, and magazine features including "Ribald Classics".^[6] Over the months that followed, Escapade would gradually increase the amount of Playboy programming.

The channel officially relaunched as the Playboy Channel on November 18, 1982.^[7] The original programming and style of the Playboy Channel was developed by Hugh Hefner, and producer Michael Trikilis. Playboy hired its own sales and marketing staff and launched the channel on several major multiple system operators. At the time of its launch, programming consisted of R-rated films plus a music video program, Playboy's Hot Rocks, based on the then-new cable channel MTV but with more explicit videos usually only seen at nightclubs. The channel was broadcast for only ten hours each day, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, during its first eleven years. In October 1983, Rainbow Media exited the partnership by selling its share to Playboy, but would continue to distribute the channel until 1986.^[8] The channel re-launched as Playboy at Night on November 1, 1989. During this era, original programming contained NR-rated films. The network expanded its programming with the adoption of a 24-hour schedule and adopted its current name in 1994.

In 2008, the channel launched its HD simulcast feed under the name "Playboy TV HD".

In November 2011, Playboy Enterprises sold its ownership of its media properties (including the Spice Networks) to Manwin (later MindGeek and Aylo), who would operate them, including Playboy TV, under the "Playboy Plus Entertainment" subsidiary.^[1] Although Playboy Enterprises later re-acquired their website, Aylo still continues to operate Playboy TV under license.

In spring 2023, Playboy TV launched on Tricolor TV.^{[citation needed]}

Playboy TV was originally developed as a video version of Playboy magazine. Programming featured music reviews, celebrity interviews, men's fashion and segments on cars. It was a video extension of the magazine - an established lifestyle brand. Slowly the programming on the channel evolved to feature more attractive women and eventually soft core features. This then evolved to what would become more standard television programming with a focus primarily on a male demographic.

In 2010, Playboy TV unveiled a new program slate,^[9] which featured series tailored to both male and female viewers.^[10]

• Official website