Through an alliance with adult magazine publisher Blue Horizon Media, Inc., the two companies have officially created a new business entity, Trans Digital Media LLC.
By March 2004, Trans Digital is set to launch three adult entertainment pay-per-view networks, including one aimed specifically at women under the Playgirl magazine name.
Blue Horizon's most famous media property Playgirl is slated to be re-dressed as Playgirl TV, a 24-hour pay-per-view network. The show's content will feature adult films and profiles on male models and other notable male personalities, the company said.
The new network will be promoted through Playgirl magazine as well as the dozen other adult magazine titles owned by Blue Horizon, which cater to a reported two million subscribers on a monthly basis.
According to a representative for Trans Digital, the pay-per-view network model typically appeals to male audiences, who often associate it with major sports events. However, Playgirl TV will be marketed as the first official network to truly target an adult female audience, which at present, accounts for one-third of the total pay-per-view audience.
Trans Digital also expects to hit two birds with one stone by capturing the gay male audience, a loyal follower of the Playgirl brand name. According to Blue Horizon, 50 percent of Playgirl's subscriber base is male.
"So it's an interesting way of tapping into the gay market without having to scream, 'We have a gay channel,'" Trans Digital President Mark Graff told Multichannel News.
According to Graff, Trans Digital expects to charge network subscribers between $9.95-$12.95. Show segments will be sold to network operators in 90-minute and three-hour increments.