Cable Forum - Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

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Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Quote:

Originally Posted by shadow771 (Post 34808203)

This would affect TNA Wrestling programming such as, TNA Impact, TNA Epics and TNA pay-per-view broadcasts. Sky airs WWE programming, hence the problem. It is doubtful World Wrestling Entertainment's deal would negatively affect UFC, but there is a good chance it would negatively affect TNA.

nice quote from a wrestling site there. (http://www.wrestling-edge.com/tnanew..._from=&ucat=2&)

TNA makes better ratings over here tht in the US and the live shows over here do better than there US live shows, it would make sence for someone to pick them up if they have to.

Also if Sky bought the channels and WWE said to get rid of TNA then that could be seen as an anti-competative move and could show WWE as trying to create a monopoly on US wrestling shows broadcast in the uk.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

They would be crazy to sell Virgin Media Television! It would mean less on-demand content,higher subscription fees and lower chance of competiting with Sky.

By keeping Virgin Media Television,its hold Virgin TV security in competiting with Sky.

I mean Living is the UK's most popular channel! What the hell!

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

As everyone knows, l have always been critical of VM Tv etc, and l believe if Sky does buy VM channels, it will benefit the consumer, and that is paramount.

Even though, they have had arguments before, between them, if the customers gets a better deal, then l am for it.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

In my personal opinion, VM make very little from the TV service as they always lost money from it and is mainly used as a retention tool. That is why you used to have to have a phone to get the TV service and currently you can only get the free package (size m) if you have a phone line.
Phone and BB make money, TV doesn't, so the only investment into TV is to keep customers on the BB and phone! (minimum to stop churn)

This isn't my perfessional opinion! (If you want that, PM me)

hic! :drunk:

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

monkey, VM TV and the cable TV package are completely different things. Nothing will change with regards to cable TV, VM TV are the ones who product Virgin 1, etc.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

This is how Virgin TV,Virgin Media Television and UKTV Channels are:

Virgin TV:

Cable TV platform and service provider with multiple choice of channels from a range different broadcasters such as BBC,Virgin Media Television,UKTV,Sky,Discovery,Viacom,MTV and a few more. Virgin TV delivers direct to the consumer. The TV channels and on-demand content are brought to you by Virgin Media limited, each cable franchise is listed as a private limited company of its own and is owned by Virgin Media which is a plc for example, Cable London Limited which covers Enfield,Camden,Harringey,Hackney and Islington of north London. That way it makes it easier to sell of individual franchises if they are under performing.

Virgin Media Television:

This is a TV channel broadcaster for the UK Pay-TV and Digital terrestrial market. It is also content provider for Virgin TV. The company owns and broadcasts Living,Living 2,Living+1,Living+2,Challenge TV,Challenge+1,Challenge Jackpot,Bravo,Bravo+1,Bravo 2,Virgin 1 and Virgin1+1. Virgin Media Television also owns a percentage of Setanta sports news. Virgin Media Television previously was part of United Artists group and became wholly owned by the Telewest Broadband group in 2000. Orignally,the broadcaster aired Bravo,The Childrens Channel(TCC)(Now Trouble),The Family Channel(Now Challenge TV) and in 2005 Player which became Bravo 2 and FTN which is now Virgin 1. Living became part of the group in the mid-90's,previously UKTV held Living and was called UK Living.

UKTV channels:

This is also a broacaster and airs the following channels; Watch,Watch+1,Alibi,Alibi+1,G.O.L.D,Dave,Dave+1,Ed en,Blighty,Home,Home+1,YEsterday,UKTV Food and UKTV gardens.

It is a 50/50 joint venture between the BBC and Virgin Media Television. The broadcaster airs is channels across: Virgin TV,Sky,Tiscali TV,Smallworld Media TV,Wight Cable and Freeview as well as Top up TV.

Virgin Media Group has planned to offload its 50% share in UKTV channels. This is not the whole of Virgin Media Television. It is recommendable as it will release a lot of cash,Virgin Media doesn't really provide much content for these channels anyway and popularity for these channels is decreasing which is why they have all been rebranded!

I don't think Virgin Media is 100% sure it wants to sell Virgin Media Television, Living TV has aired exclusive shows and provides Virgin Media,Tiscali TV and BT Vision customers a lot of on-demand content. This channel is very popular and must bring in a lot of revenue!

Furthermore, Virgin Media has also looked into the possibility of acquiring Playboy, why would they be interested in buying that if they no longer want to be a content provider???

As mentioned above Virgin Media do use Virgin TV as a tool to keep Phone and broadband customers,however Virgin Media also use Broadband and phone and even Virgin Mobile to keep Virgin TV subscribers.

And you don't have to take Virgin phone to get Virgin TV, You can still order Virgin TV as a stand alone product through tele-sales. Bare in mind there are some streets and franchises that do not have Virgin's own telephone service.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

has the sky offer gone through is there a time limite any new news on whats going on as it all seems to have gone quiet

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Quote:

Virgin Media inserts News Corp clause into VM TV sale

http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/Most...use-VMtv-sale/

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Quote:

Originally Posted by joglynne (Post 34837990)

http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/News/Most...use-VMtv-sale/

That article clarifies that BSkyB haven't been banned from bidding, just banned from buying it on the cheap through a third company.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Why would they bother to do that if they did not intend to decline Sky's bid?

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

So that if Sky win the bid they fork up as much as possible for them because VM know they can afford it :D

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

I think that making a quick buck selling these channels to Sky would be a huge mistake, and would possibly be something the Competition Commission would need to be made aware of. Sky have a ridiculous level of control in the market as it is, and with Living in their grasp I'm tempted to believe that Sky would simply charge what they like for them.

I guess the way around it would be to build a set carriage cost in to the sale, but still I don't fancy it.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Mistake, but if Sky are offering the highest bid VM have to come up with some seriously good reasons to their shareholders why they declined it.

The clause is not an uncommon one - it should be remembered that VM and News Corp, through their holding in BSkyB, are competitors! No doubt there will also be a clause there guaranteeing VM carriage of all the channels for the foreseeable future also.

It's not about sticking it to 'the man' it's just business. VM are perfectly happy to sell to Sky but are not naive enough to underestimate Sky's 'Uncle Rupert' and the reach of his company.

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Quote:

Channel 4 pulls out of Virgin Media TV auction

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle6734505.ece

Re: Sky makes Â£160m bid for VM channels

Looks like it's back on again according to Media Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010...b-virgin-media

Quote:

Virgin Media is understood to be in the final stages of selling its wholly-owned television channels, including Virgin 1 and Living, to BSkyB after months of negotiations.

A Virgin Media Television spokesman declined to comment. But a source close to the company said that both deals were now very much on the cards, even though the UKTV talks are understood to have been stalled as recently as last month.

BSkyB also declined to comment. However, the Sky chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, has previously said that the satellite TV broadcaster would potentially be interested in buying Virgin Media's channels business.

When Virgin Media put its wholly-owned channels on the market it was thought to be priced at about Â£500m, although it is believed that this has dropped.

Virgin Media Television's total revenue in 2008 was Â£121.8m but this, and its profits, are expected to have risen in 2009 when its full-year results are announced on 25 February.

This is because Virgin and Sky were locked in a carriage dispute which was only settled in late 2008. Throughout the dispute, Sky was only paying Virgin Â£6m a year to carry its channels, a figure that will have risen to at least Â£30m last year.

For Sky, the UK's largest pay-TV business with 9.7 million customers, one benefit of a deal would be that it would no longer have to pay Â£30m a year to distribute Virgin's channels, which also include Bravo and Challenge, via its satellite TV service.

Living, which appeals to women viewers with shows including Grey's Anatomy and America's Next Top Model, would also be a good fit with Sky's portfolio of sports channels and the general entertainment service Sky1, which skew more towards men.

Buying Virgin 1 would provide Sky with a coveted channel slot on the Freeview digital terrestrial TV service, though it would most probably have to be rebranded.

.

BSkyB is ramping up its investment in a range of content and programming, while the additional basic subscription channels will also offer a major opportunity to cross promote its range of services.

One of the areas of negotiation is thought to be the price Virgin would pay for continuing to carry its former channels on its own cable TV network.

Virgin Media has also been in talks about selling its 50% stake in UKTV, the pay-TV joint venture with the BBC that operates channels including Gold and Dave, to Channel 4, but these negotiations are understood to have stalled.

However, David Abraham, the UKTV chief executive who is moving to the same job at Channel 4 later this year, may become instrumental in getting the talks going again.

Selling off its own channels and the UKTV stake would allow Virgin Media to exit from content and programming to concentrate on its core cable TV, broadband and telephony subscription business. It would also have a knock-on impact on Virgin's TV airtime sales house, IDS.