Playboy to Offer Newsmagazine

Continuing its push toward more original adult programming,
Playboy TV will launch a new one-hour documentary/newsmagazine show this month.

The show, Sexcetera, will take a unique look at
stories from around the world centering on sex and sex-related topics, the network said.

The program will feature a group of young writers and
filmmakers who will file reports from the field and provide behind-the-scenes looks at and
personal commentaries on the stories, said Dick Rosetti, president of worldwide production
for Playboy.

"Sexcetera viewers will get to see firsthand
accounts from our team of correspondents, as well as the reporters' own personal
perspectives of the story," Rosetti said. "It's like 60 Minutes
meets [MTV: Music Television's] The Real World."

Sexcetera initially debuted on the adult PPV service
seven years ago. Rosetti said Playboy has since updated the show to give it a more current
look and feel. The network will tie in promotion of the series with a Playboy-produced Web
site carrying the Sexcetera moniker.

"We're hoping that the renewed interest in the
show will drive our buy-rates," Rosetti said.

The series is the fourth original show on the network,
following the debuts of Sex Court, Naughty Amateur Home Videos and Night
Calls
. Rosetti said the network has four more original shows on the drawing board, but
he declined to be more specific.

Overall, about 75 percent of Playboy's programming in
November is original fare.

"Nobody else is doing this type of programming,"
he said. "Nobody can be as sexually explicit with our stories or our reporting."

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.