DETROIT, MI — According to Advertising Age, the economic downturn may result in a boon of sorts for the adult entertainment industry. An article in the current issue of the advertising industry’s trade magazine says cable and satellite television providers are planning to promote their adult-content offerings more aggressively in a bid to capture some of the estimated $10 billion porn market.Ad Age writer Claude Brodesser-Aker wrote that although the diversity of distribution channels brought about by the digital age has benefitted adult content producers, the same cannot be said of traditional media providers. Facing increasing competition for consumers’ attention, cable and satellite companies believe pay-per-view porn may save their bottom lines.
Most are planning to promote their adult offerings on male-oriented channels like ESPN and Spike TV during late-night hours (after midnight).
“What’s more,” Brodesser-Aker wrote, “even as they raise prices on regular channels, the price of their adult fare is about to get much cheaper and more attractive.”
OK, maybe that part isn’t so auspicious for the adult industry’s fortunes, but Brodesser-Aker attributes the price cuts to cost declines the industry already has imposed upon itself as a result of increased competition and a glut of content.
“Pay-per-view porn is being slowly nibbled to death by more cheaply-priced (or free) internet smut, while adult studios are suffering from stalled DVD sales,” he wrote.
Even with lowered consumer pricing, cable and satellite providers have little to fear and much to gain. According to Brodesser-Aker, contracts usually are structured on a revenue-sharing basis — meaning no money changes hands until a viewer pays to watch — and the cable and satellite companies reap as much as 90-percent of the revenue generated.
A relaxed moral climate in Washington also plays into the decision, according to the article. After the Bush administration’s hard line against anything sexual, new President Barack Obama’s apparent focus on the economy, not the bedroom, bodes well for porn.
“We’re coming out of an eight-year political administration that was very tough on the adult business,” Digital Playground honcho and director Ali Joone told Brodesser-Aker. “What is driving cable operators now is money, not fear. They’re starting to not really care what people say; they’re looking at their bottom line.”
