Fighting over the Adult Brand

Cable World, May 8, 2000 by Debbie Narrod

Janco's Henderson observes: "Playboy is expanding brand rather than consolidating Internet space. A lot of broadband users are going to adult sites; cable operators get no money from that."

New Frontier Media offers 20-some adult-oriented subscription Web sites, the flagship being Ten.com for $29.95 a month. Other sites are priced at $20 a month. A portion of Ten.com is dedicated to what's on TeN's TV version nightly. Some of its other adult programming is ported over from the PPV services as well, Hawk says. New Frontier Media purchased top adult-oriented Internet site iGallery last year. Sites feature such interactive options as picking scenes to place behind still photos.

And New Frontier Media's Internet involvement goes even further as a result of its 1999 acquisition of Interactive Telecom Network Inc. and Card Transactions Inc.

ITN offers an Internet infrastructure that includes dedicated access, Web hosting, co-location, e-commerce, application development, streaming media and bandwidth management. The system is fully robotic, using StorageTek and Seachange International equipment. The unit processes over a billion unique visits a day, Kreloff said.

"What we're expecting now is conversion of all media platforms to port content over all media," said Hawk. "Ultimately, there will be one box in the home."

Playboy.com Web Sites

* playboy.com - entertainment, information and e-commerce

* cyber.playboy.com - subscription site with Playboy content and exclusive events

* playboystore.com - sales of Playboy-branded products

* auctions.playboy.com - auctions of Playboy-branded merchandise and event admissions, plus auctions by site users of Playboy memorabilia

* cyberspice.com -- premium adult entertainment under the Spice brand