Photograph Michel Sedan

Pascal Houzelot, the young chairman of Pink TV, which has just been officially agreed by CSA , has good experience of tele, with TF1, where it was to advise of Etienne Mougeotte. He also founded a house of production, Mosca Films, and has Fabuleux in particular produit"Absolument ".

How had the idea just made to you a chain of tele gay and lesbian?

After ten years of experiment in television, at TF1 at Etienne Mougeotte in particular, I wanted to fly of my own wings. I created a company of production, I produced several films - of which "Absolutely fabulous".

I wanted to make two things: to make bear fruit my experiment of tele, and advance the schmilblick - to take again a televisual expression - concerning the perception which the company of the gays has. I decided to make converge both by creating a gay chain of spirit.

You speak about "gay chain of spirit". Is a this better definition than "gay chain" to speak about Pink?

Pink TV will be a gay chain all public, it is one of our slogans. I want déghettoïser, and I hope to have also subscribers hétéros, but of course gay-friendly.

Did you have the feeling that there was among certain members of CSA, perhaps not of the homophobie, but a certain embarrassment with respect to a tele gay and gay porn?

I would not say that like that. There are not a homophobie, but an ignorance, much more significant than I did not imagine it, of the reality of the gays at a certain number of them, not at all.

Moreover the file of Pink TV was examined at the time of the great debate on the porn with television. My chain will not be uen chain porn. There will be 4 films X per week, which will represent few hours in the grid of diffusion.

The porn forms integral part of the gay culture. And the economic model of a gay chain implies the presence of porn.

The fact of distinguishing the subscribers who will want X and those which will not want disturbs you?

The CNIL refuses the files of people who state to want porn... Csa did not specify the practical methods of this requirement. I think that one will be satisfied with a box which people who will not want of X will be able to notch. And the parental code will not be sent to them.

Concretely, that will it occur in the days and the next few weeks?

One will buckle the round table, within one month or two. The shareholders will pour the funds which they were committed investing, and one will rent buildings, will engage of the personnel, will buy the programs which one already selected, throw production of emissions...

One focused oneself much on X on Pink TV because of the long months of negotiations with CSA. You are not afraid which the chain is catalogued chain porn?

Not. We will not be more one chain porn that is not to it Canal +

Don't you fear that certain gays do not dare to subscribe in Pink?

This is why Pink will be available alone, or in a bouquet. But I think that this phenomenon is less significant in the gays than at the hétéros which are afraid to be catalogued while subscribing with a chain porn. There is a certain pride in the gays.

Which place Pink TV will it give the girls, in the programs in general, and in term of films X lesbiens?

Pink is a gay chain which will not forget the girls and will be addressed to them. We will diffuse films lesbiens or of lesbiens spirit. I have of it an extremely broad vision, traditional films like "the Christine queen" with Greta Garbo, in "Bound".

Concerning X lesbien, much of films do not answer at the requests of the lesbians. They are phantasms of hétéros. I want films which will satisfy the public lesbien. They are not many and difficult to find.

Many national gay media undergo the reproach to be too Parisian. How Pink, based in Paris, will it avoid this pitfall?

I will draw from my own experiment of provincial. I spent 25 years in province, and I am very proud of my Gascon roots. I will test, in the measurement of our means, that Pink shows all that is done in areas. Pink TV will have an essential role of bond, and will speak about what occurs to Pau, as in Paris or New York.