# Why can't certain adult channels be ordered in my state?



## Guest (May 19, 2012)

I was looking at my programmings on Dish's website. The checkboxes for certain adult channels are greyed out 
and the Dish rep told me those channels can't be sold to customers in my city or state. I'm okay with that, since 
Dish needs to comply with those laws. 

My question is that I can't find any local or state laws stating what's not allowed. What if I go to my buddy's 
house 12 miles away in another state, record those channels on a DVD, bring it home and watch it? I just 
asked him to log into his Dish account and those channels can be ordered over there. Will I be breaking laws
when I watch those recorded DVD at home?(since DishNetwork can't sell me that same channel in my state)
Just what kind of stuff is on those channels anyway?


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

You should probably ask an attorney rather than a forum.
Some states, and you didn't name yours, have some very archaic and backwards laws that are still on the books. I'm sure Dish legal knows about them and is erring on the side of caution.


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

quietmouse said:


> Just what kind of stuff is on those channels anyway?


How old are you?


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

quietmouse said:


> Just what kind of stuff is on those channels anyway?


Overpriced stuff you can get free on the internet or a truck stop in the next state


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

There are several channels not available in NC... and none of the On Demand Adult stuff is available here either.

I honestly don't know why... I mean, I know why... because some people can't stand it if they aren't able to control other people... but I don't know why this stuff is such a big deal to some people that they need to restrict it just because they don't want it.

I don't care since I wouldn't order anyway... but I always find it odd that I couldn't order it if I wanted.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

quietmouse said:


> Just what kind of stuff is on those channels anyway?


This is a family friendly place ... or at least not a lockerroom ... so we don't get into details of what is on adult channels.

Most channels have a rating. XX, XX.5, XXX. These can be found on DISH's webpage advertising their adult channels. This was once a public page but it appears one now has to log in to their account, choose PPV and then select the adult tab to see the channel descriptions.

As far as the law ... most states have a law website where you can look up the rules. If it is a city or county rule it might be on the local website. Depending on the rule it may be illegal to bring banned content into your city/county. (I'll ignore the illegality of taping something under someone else's subscription for the sake of this post ... but assuming you bought a DVD at a store in a jurisdiction that allowed its sale you may not be able to bring it into the jurisdiction where you live.)


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## pfred (Feb 8, 2009)

Hardcore porn is illegal on Oklahoma.


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## damondlt (Feb 27, 2006)

pfred said:


> Hardcore porn is illegal on Oklahoma.


 Gimmie a break!:lol:

You can do it , but you can't watch it.:hurah::lol:


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

damondlt said:


> Gimmie a break!:lol:
> 
> You can do it , but you can't watch it.:hurah::lol:


Give them time. They're probably working on ways to restrict that too.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Is internet porn illegal in NC or other states, too? I had no idea some states ban channels. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Utah, but other states...wow.


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## coldsteel (Mar 29, 2007)

pfred said:


> Hardcore porn is illegal on Oklahoma.


Yeah, no...


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

MysteryMan said:


> Give them time. They're probably working on ways to restrict that too.


Some things are still banned in many states ... but such discussion isn't the purpose of our forum (not even in The OT or Watercooler).


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

James Long said:


> Some things are still banned in many states ... but such discussion isn't the purpose of our forum (not even in The OT or Watercooler).


Yeah, I've noticed.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

coldsteel said:


> pfred said:
> 
> 
> > Hardcore porn is illegal on Oklahoma.
> ...


Oklahoma refers to it as "obscene material". See title 21 of Oklahoma Code.

Distributing (as simple as giving a copy to someone - even another adult) is a misdemeanor that has a maximum sentence of 1 year in county jail, $1000 or both. (Child porn penalties are higher - 20 years/$10000/plus sex offender status.)

Possession of two of the same article or any five articles deemed "obscene material" is legally presumed as intended for distribution. The burden of proof is on the possessor.

If quietmouse wants to reveal his state a search can be done ...


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Stewart Vernon said:


> There are several channels not available in NC... and none of the On Demand Adult stuff is available here either.
> 
> I honestly don't know why... I mean, I know why... because some people can't stand it if they aren't able to control other people... but I don't know why this stuff is such a big deal to some people that they need to restrict it just because they don't want it.
> 
> I don't care since I wouldn't order anyway... but I always find it odd that I couldn't order it if I wanted.


I've never ordered an adult PPV event in my life. I believe states let people order them if they want.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Paul Secic said:


> I've never ordered an adult PPV event in my life. I believe states let people order them if they want.


Most states do ... but there are states and cities/counties where distribution is illegal. If DISH, DirecTV or any distributor sells banned content there they violate that jurisdiction's laws.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

In theory, the ban on such channels in NC might very well apply to the internet as well... it is just much harder for them to filter that than it is to get the cable and satellite providers to cooperate.

Lots of magazines are probably illegal as well, but again, if you managed to sneak them in you might get away with it... but you might be taking a risk with mail order if something were to happen in transit that exposed the contents.

Such laws seem archaic and overly intrusive... but then that seems to be the order of business. Often the people screaming loudest about personal freedom are the ones who want you to do what they do... so "freedom" to them means the freedom to do as they do... not however you might want to do.


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## [email protected] Network (Jul 21, 2011)

Adult programming is restricted in certain states depending on the X rating. 

XX.5 is restricted in the following counties;

Hamilton County, Ohio
Marion County, Indiana
Duval County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Bay County, Florida
Escambia County, Florida
Leon County, Florida

XXX is restricted in following states, cities, and counties;

Alabama 
Arkansas 
Mississippi 
Oklahoma
North Carolina 
Tennessee
Utah

Cincinnati, Ohio
Hamilton County, Ohio
Marion County, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Jacksonville, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Panama City, Florida
Duval County, Florida
Bay County, Florida
Escambia County, Florida
Leon County, Florida


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

That is really strange that XXX is restricted in Arkansas, considering there are two 24 hour XXX video stores on Interstate 40, and about 5 of them around Little Rock. How would satellite be restricted from sending movies, yet local businesses can sell/rent them?

I can see Florida, dont want to seniors to have heart attacks.


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## Orion9 (Jan 31, 2011)

The local businesses pay their lobbyists more and/or are better connected?


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Davenlr said:


> That is really strange that XXX is restricted in Arkansas, considering there are two 24 hour XXX video stores on Interstate 40, and about 5 of them around Little Rock. How would satellite be restricted from sending movies, yet local businesses can sell/rent them?


Apples and oranges to a degree... I'm sure the people who lobbied to get the bans wanted to ban the stores too... but the stores have a better measure of controlling adult-only access to their product than Dish does once the satellite is in your home.

Your 12 year-old can order PPV even if you lock it out (if he figures out the password)... and then you would sue Dish for selling your underage kid adult movies... vs the adult video store that can stop kids from coming in the door in the first place.

But... at the same time... I've brought up before how a lot of US magazines are printed in Canada and then sent back to the US for distribution... and it used to be (probably still is) that the Canadian printers were located in provinces that banned the sale/possession of adult materials that the printer was in fact creating for US customers.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Run for office, or at least back someone who is (that has some common sense) and work to change the law.


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

Any legally broadcasting channel should not be banned. You should always be more than a little concerned when laws about what you can watch are passed. I wish I could make that a blanket statement but I can't. Child Pornography for instance has no place anywhere. I realize that opens it up that if one thing can't be seen, why can't other things. Sticking to legally broadcasting channels, why should you be prevented from watching?


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## Guest (May 21, 2012)

Stewart Vernon said:


> Apples and oranges to a degree... I'm sure the people who lobbied to get the bans wanted to ban the stores too... but the stores have a better measure of controlling adult-only access to their product than Dish does once the satellite is in your home.
> 
> Your 12 year-old can order PPV even if you lock it out (if he figures out the password)... and then you would sue Dish for selling your underage kid adult movies... vs the adult video store that can stop kids from coming in the door in the first place.
> 
> But... at the same time... I've brought up before how a lot of US magazines are printed in Canada and then sent back to the US for distribution... and it used to be (probably still is) that the Canadian printers were located in provinces that banned the sale/possession of adult materials that the printer was in fact creating for US customers.


My questions are strictly limited to products/services/programming provided
by DishNetwork..... in this case, the adult program availability.

Let's say I live in a state that allows Dish to sell any XXX channel over the 
satellite and I save all of these shows on my DVR.... what will happen if I
move to Oklahoma and take my Dish DVR with me? Once a new dish is set
up and my Dish account reflects a new Oklahoma address, will previously-
purchased shows on the DVR be locked out? Also, will it be illegal to bring
that used DVR to Oklahoma in the first place?

There sure are a lot of silly laws.... I can't remember where it was, but I once
stayed with a friend where the local county law prohibits sales of washers
and dryers on Sundays. I kid you not, even the local electronic store ads in
the papers said "No sale of washers and dryers on Sunday..."  Not to 
mentions that many states currently still do not allow car dealers to be 
open for business on Sunday.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Obscenity is based on community standards ... the standards of each community varies. People in the listed communities do not want someone outside of their community dictating their standards any more than people outside of the listed communities would accept a ban based on the desire of the listed communities.

I agree with Stewart on his opinion of why satellite might be blocked from distributing content a local store can sell. The sale of explicit material is often restricted geographically even in areas where it can be sold. One just can't put a store where one wants to. These communities have set their standards ... changing them (to make them stricter or looser) is usually a challenge.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

quietmouse said:


> Let's say I live in a state that allows Dish to sell any XXX channel over the satellite and I save all of these shows on my DVR.... what will happen if I move to Oklahoma and take my Dish DVR with me? Once a new dish is set up and my Dish account reflects a new Oklahoma address, will previously-purchased shows on the DVR be locked out? Also, will it be illegal to bring that used DVR to Oklahoma in the first place?


I do not expect DISH to retroactively prohibit viewing or recorded programs - although some people are having problems with previously recorded programs on EHDs connected to the Hopper.

Under the Oklahoma law outlined earlier in this thread, if you had two copies of the same program or more than five programs that fell under the "obscene material" definition in law the assumption would be that you intended to distribute the items and the burden of proof would be on you to prove that assumption was not true. I suppose the legislature decided that four XXX movies was enough for anyone.


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## TXD16 (Oct 30, 2008)

Stewart Vernon said:


> I honestly don't know why... I mean, I know why... because some people can't stand it if they aren't able to control other people... but I don't know why this stuff is such a big deal to some people that they need to restrict it just because they don't want it.


I agree. In fact, I think people should be allowed to pretty much do and view whatever they want, whenever they want. For example, if people want to have (or view) sex in the middle of Main Street, there should be no prohibition whatsoever against it. I mean, if you happen to be strolling down Main Street while people happen to be exercising their "freedoms" and you don't like what you're seeing, you can just look away, right?


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## bigglebowski (Jul 27, 2010)

When I first started working in satellite in NC just as Directv was launching. At this time C-Band was still a viable option for people in remote regions devoid of cable TV. This is when the "decoder" modules for programming were videocipher2. At that time the VC2 hack had somewhat been patched and the bootleg decoders would only decode video but no audio which made them popular in NC markets because the XXX couldnt be subscribed to. Its not like you would watch HBO or ESPN without sound.

I remember being told the law was more about the transfer across state lines to the home. In NC you could go to a XXX bookstore and buy the same content that was available on sat but you couldnt have it subbed to the home. Which I believe is how Tommy Chong got busted for selling pipes the company had mailed a customer in a state where receiving those items was illegal. 

Its like a lot of goofy laws out there no politician wants to be the one that stands on endorsing porn, political suicide.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

quietmouse said:


> Let's say I live in a state that allows Dish to sell any XXX channel over the
> satellite and I save all of these shows on my DVR.... what will happen if I
> move to Oklahoma and take my Dish DVR with me?


The recordings should still work... barring glitches like James mentioned some having with the Hopper and previous recordings.

As for OK not wanting the content imported? That's a grey area. IF they never know, then no problem... and it isn't like they have a border patrol to check your DVR on the way into the state... but if something happened where they found out? I don't know.

Like if you get pulled over and they see something in plain view... Maybe a cop comes to your house to investigate a noise complaint and you let him in and he sees you watching adult programming that he knows isn't legal in that state. Just spitballing, I don't know.



zkc16 said:


> I agree. In fact, I think people should be allowed to pretty much do and view whatever they want, whenever they want. For example, if people want to have (or view) sex in the middle of Main Street, there should be no prohibition whatsoever against it. I mean, if you happen to be strolling down Main Street while people happen to be exercising their "freedoms" and you don't like what you're seeing, you can just look away, right?


I assume you are joking... That's an apples vs oranges comparison if ever I saw one. Laws against public indecency are completely different than laws attempting to enforce "private indecency"...

You should have more rights in the privacy of your own home than you have out in the public streets.


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## beavis (Jun 9, 2005)

It's funny, when I used to work for DirecTV (when I started there anyways) the places Raymond mentioned were enforced with certain adult PPV, but about 2 years in we got a memo stating that the laws were changed and that we can sell any type of adult PPV to anyone in the US. Pretty much D* is breaking state laws since then. :lol:


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## Marlin Guy (Apr 8, 2009)

quietmouse said:


> Let's say I live in a state that allows Dish to sell any XXX channel over the
> satellite and I save all of these shows on my DVR.... what will happen if I
> move to Oklahoma and take my Dish DVR with me?


Probably nothing.



> Once a new dish is setup and my Dish account reflects a new Oklahoma address, will previously-purchased shows on the DVR be locked out?


Probably not. But if your porn collection means that much to you, then don't move to Oklahoma or anywhere else that actively enforces laws against it.



> Also, will it be illegal to bring that used DVR to Oklahoma in the first place?


Probably so. That's up to local law enforcement. Not your DBS provider.

All of your questions are somewhat extreme theoreticals, and none of them are very likely to occur. They have more to do with the law than they do with DBS.

As I stated at the onset, consult a lawyer if it's that big of a deal.
If you want to lead campaign to change community standards then there's that option too.
Remember, it wasn't that long ago that it was in violation of decency standards to show a man and woman sleeping in the same bed on television.

We'd still be there if someone didn't push the issue.

1942 - Censors made animators draw Tweety Bird with clothes on, because the cartoon bird looked too naked in his original form.

More here.
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/07/06/a-timeline-of-tv-censorship/


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## pitflyer (Jan 25, 2008)

I live in PA and in the past could at least browse the Dish On Demand Adult section -- never tried ordering from there. Now when I click that it says' not available in your state'. Not sure if a new law was passed or Dish just started enforcing an old law they saw... but I think the OnDemand comes over the Internet, and Comcast will let any ole' thing over the wire


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

pitflyer said:


> ... but I think the OnDemand comes over the Internet, and Comcast will let any ole' thing over the wire


Two different things there, though... Dish specifically selling you prohibited adult content would violate the local law... but Comcast not blocking such content isn't a violation. Comcast has no obligation legally to try and block that content... they are merely prohibited from generating and selling it themselves.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

[email protected] Network said:


> Adult programming is restricted in certain states depending on the X rating.
> 
> XXX is restricted in following states, cities, and counties;
> 
> ...


That explains it. Many years ago, like 20, I went to a bachelor party for a friend who lived in Cincinnati. We had to drive like 20 miles to the only video store that had adult content. Didn't occur to me at the time why, but now I know.


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