Wednesday, September 5, 2001
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Borough officials will look into whether they can drop their premium movie channel after hearing a council member complain about pornographic material.
Councilman William Kingery said he was shocked while channel surfing on Showtime, the borough's only premium channel, to find the material available during hours when teen-agers are watching.
The series, "Queer As Folk," is described in promotional material as a "daring exploration of sex and love" that follows the lives of gay men and women in Pittsburgh. The show airs at 10 p.m. Sunday and 11 p.m. Tuesday.
He said one scene he saw was so graphic "it would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up." He has no objection to such a show being aired after midnight, but objects to the earlier time slot, he said.
Other council members said that the show was not a part of the channel when the borough selected it. Kingery said he believes the borough should look into offering a different premium movie channel. The cable committee and borough solicitor will look into the terms of the contract.
The borough, which provides cable service to about 500 subscribers, has about 100 who subscribe to Showtime at an additional $7.95 per month over basic cable costs. The borough contracts for the channel through the National Cable TV Co-op.