Swedish 'porn king' touts sex video hotels

Swedish porn mogul Berth Milton has come up with an unusual business proposition for his next project: five-star hotels where guests can stay for free in exchange for having their indiscretions filmed and broadcast over the internet.

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"The important thing is to go all the way -- not halfway or a third of the way. Imagine how they were laughing at Steve Jobs and Bill Gates when they came up with their own ideas," Milton told the New York Post on Friday.

Milton envisions opening up to 100 five-star swingers hotels where guests can stay for free in exchange for allowing his company Private Media to film them.

He estimated that a single hotel could generate $43.8 million annually in subscriptions to spectators watching at home.

However, Milton is emphatic that the hotels appeal to a wide audience after having initially conducted "field research" at more than a dozen swingers' clubs around Barcelona where he currently lives.

"It has to be a hotel for non-swingers as well -- not super-explicit where everybody's running around naked. That takes the style and class out of it," he said.

Milton is currently in the middle of a legal battle to maintain control of the company. He heads to court next week in New York to face a creditor trying to oust him from the board of Private Media at its annual meeting on November 18th.

The New York State Supreme Court will determine whether the creditor has a right to a number of voting shares, which Milton claims have already expired under a six-year statute of limitations.

Milton is also fighting allegations from former business associates that he borrowed more than $10 million from the company without repaying the funds.

However, Milton is so confident of victory next week, he is already looking into launching licensed merchandise in the future, including sex toys, condoms, lubricants and energy drinks.

Milton, also known as Berth Milton Jr., is the son of Berth Milton, who founded Private, the first commercial full-colour hardcore pornographic magazine in 1965.

After initially vowing to never get into the porn business, the younger Milton eventually took over the publicly traded company in 1991.

Milton was an early adopter of the DVD market, investing millions to film X-rated versions of classic movies at exotic locations before losing ground to free internet porn.

Looking ahead, Milton also foresees the porn industry muscling into more mainstream outlets.