Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

So was espn but they went to the wall fairly swiftly after a brief stint in the UK market. I can't believe eleven sports, a streaming service, still don't have an app available via streaming devices like amazon TV, Roku, apple TV or now tv. No smart device coverage either. If they plan to make any impact they need to get this sorted swiftly.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Indeed, ESPN lacked a business model as a standalone subscription after the loss of Premiership rights and it became more cost effective to sell up to BT and sign a content deal.

You can’t blame them, it was quite rational to smoothly exit the market at that time (almost as smoothly as their entry post Setanta collapse). May have even saw modest profits from the whole stint.

At the end of the day these business are investments and if there’s no sign of returns someone will eventually pull the plug.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

l would also say these companies also have a lack of understanding of the UK market compared to Sky.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

I’m not sure how much is a lack of understanding, or just a lack of profits.

Sky were in a position to buy all but 23 Premiership games, undermining the Setanta business model in the UK. Sky have the customer base to absorb costs from to force up the value of some rights that key competitors rely upon.

I’m of the opinion had Setanta won 46 games and got the six seasons to build their customer base it would have become sustainable. I think ESPN understood the market, took the “baby steps” approach but I don’t think anyone could reasonably have anticipated BT to enter the market in the manner they did.

Eleven on the other hand it’s a total mystery to me. I’m not convinced La Liga has a customer base willing to pay for it or that with creative hype Sky/BT couldn’t make the Bundesliga the new La Liga.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Completely agree there current rights wouldn't even tempt me at the annual price of £39.99 and as you say I can't see them attracting people in any kind of great numbers with what they currently have.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Same.

The further problem is even at that price once you take off VAT etc. they need 450 000 subscribers at that price just to cover the reported cost Sky previously paid for La Liga rights. Or every single viewer to subscribe, which is wholly unrealistic. The business model is completely flawed.

Is the UFC viewer base going to fill the gap? The last event doesn’t suggest so, and that involved their biggest draw.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Their business model is being a content aggregator meaning buy the rights and pimp them out to as many platforms as possible. Obviously their online offering alone they aren't going to come close to breaking even.

That said Virgin/Sky are content platform providers so they do need each other. What would be the point of providing a platform but not putting TV channels on it?

I assume we all have Virgin TV so why anybody wouldn't want Eleven escapes me.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Well it’s not wise as a “content aggregator” to pay unrealistically high fees for content and turn to those you outbid (Sky, BT) to ask them to pick up the tab because you lack a direct to home business model.

I fail to see the value in Virgin subsidising a failing company, lacking a business model, for content that would have largely been on Virgin anyway had they not entered the market.

I’m also concerned that the commercial relationship between Virgin, Sky and BT (the latter also being mobile network who Virgin provide MVNO services through) could be jeapordised by doing so.

If the content is available for pennies per subscriber on a wholesale basis it might be worth Virgin doing a deal as it wouldn’t have a meaningful impact on prices. Even a £1 a month price increase would be too high for much of the subscriber base who have no interest in the content anyway.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Yes it would be nice to have it but whether a deal can be agreed is another matter.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Some on this forum and others are bitterly opposed to the BT content deal, yet they are forking out and taking the risk on about £1bn a year to provide it!

To me that’s an absolute bargain to Virgin compared to entering the rights markets themselves and developing an off network retail strategy to recover the costs.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

It would cost a kings fortune for Virgin to enter the rights market and that simply is not going to happen.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

I completely agree, that’s why in my opinion the BT deal as reported makes perfect sense. It allows Virgin to do some aspects of what’s they would do (bundle, upsell, etc.) high value content in their packages without the same level of cost/risk and without the “off network” problem.

It was also guaranteed revenue for BT, an important partner of Virgin, from day 1 mitigating their risk in the rights market.

Eleven are wanting Virgin to do the same with low value content, er, just because :confused:.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Both VM and Sky have plenty of channels and Sports content available this adds very little in my opinion and as a subscriber I wouldn't want to see my platform of choice paying over the odds for a well below par Sports channel.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

The only value I could consider (possibly, I don’t know enough to comment) is if it is a part of a larger deal that brings Eleven in other markets onto Liberty owned platforms in those territories. I don’t know the current status or value of those channels, or even where they are in the same markets, but if Liberty were to see the UK channels as a straightforward, cheap and uncontroversial add on to a larger contract then it might make sense.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
 

Setanta went bust
Premier Sports has little content people want to watch - why else give 2 mtgs free
BT has had a change of heart, done a deal with sky and from what I have read may be looking to cut their sports coverage (PL would be the obvious cost cutter)


Eleven Sports, has 2 matches a year I watched when it La Liga and Serie A were part of my sky package - will I subscribe to watch them NO

why not save his money and buy a couple of players for Leeds Utd?