abstract
| - Babestation began in late 2002, as a post-watershed two-hour programme (11pm-1am) on computer game channel Game Network UK. Babestation featured two women taking calls (unheard by the TV audience) whilst the rest of the screen was filled by viewers' text messages and one presenter, who improvised and reacted to the messages. The presenter might alternate between the three women throughout the show. The programme proved profitable to the channel and Babestation's makers. In time, Babestation was given bigger time-slots, becoming a three- and then four-hour-long show (11pm-3am), increasing the number of presenters to four or five per night, and improving the technology (the director could now put women on 'full-screen', having only been able to show them on one-sixth of it before, and hand-held cameras were introduced, replacing the poorer-quality static remote-controlled ones used originally).Babestation was also sometimes broadcast on the Italian feed of Game Network. This, along with Game Network's waning commitment to 'video gaming' programmes (as Psychic Interactive was also given a large amount of airtime), caused Game Network to cease to exist in the UK; on 20 February 2006, the channel's name changed to 'Babestation', and on 28 February this channel was moved by Sky to the new "Adult" section of channels. it is also available on Free-to-air channels under the Adult Section. Now owned and operated by Cellcast PLC, a company who in its own words "is a leading provider of participatory television programming and interactive telephone technology in the cross platform entertainment sector". The company was co-founded by Andrew Wilson and Bertrand Folliet in 2002: both men have been involved in the telecommunications industry for many years, Wilson having acquired the value-added service provider VISL, from Cable & Wireless in 1993. Cellcasts principal business address is in Milton Keynes, together with premises in Great Portland St, London.
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