Paris – Gay porn and Wonder Woman repeats are to be offered in heavy doses on television in France from Monday as the country’s first station aimed at homosexuals starts operations via cable and satellite.

Pink TV, a channel largely financed by the three main existing commercial networks, plans to present a mix of respectable programming and spicy niche shows to draw in a segment of the viewing population it boasts advertisers want because of their supposed higher incomes and lack of dependents.

Most importantly, it sees the time as ripe for such a venture, given the increasing acceptance of the gay lifestyle in France and other European countries.

Among factors to influence the decision were the open homosexuality of Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe and the recent court approval for France’s first gay family headed by two lesbians.

In addition, there was the June wedding of two men that sparked a debate over gay marriages and a government push to stamp out homophobic crimes all back Pink TV’s argument.

The announcement of the channel’s launch a month ago has generated mostly welcoming reports in the mainstream press.

The left-leaning Liberation newspaper dedicated its weekend front page and three following ones to the new station, while news magazines also gave splashy play.

The most written-about aspect is Pink TV’s obsession with sex – most notably its four gay pornographic movies to be screened each week after midnight.

The first male skin flick, Out of Athens, will be shown late on Monday, about three hours after the channel is received in homes that have paid the nine-euro (about R70) monthly subscription fee.

The lesbian side of the formula will kick off next month with Madame and Eve, according to the station’s programmers, who have made no secret of their hopes that straight viewers will also be drawn to their line-up.

For audiences looking for the softer subtext of homosexuality – and sharing the appreciation of certain gay icons – the channel will have a daily helping of Wonder Woman, the 1970s United States superhero series starring Lynda Carter.

Also on the menu are English-language series such as Queer as Folk, Metrosexuality, and French and Saunders, along with documentaries of celebrities like Freddy Mercury.

Sports coverage, fittingly enough, will be handled by a tall transsexual in heels and a skirt known as Brigitte Boreale.

The question is: Will the experiment prove viable?

The owners hope to have 180 000 subscribers within two years, with advertisers making up 2% of Pink TV’s revenues, and keeping its budget to €12m.

Pink TV is presenting its future viewers as a young, “gay and gay-friendly” crowd with a high disposable income and a taste for consumer products.