Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Although not on Virgin boxes (yet)
Discovery Plus has a 12 month offer including Eurosport 1&2 for (entertainment and sport) £29.99 for 12 months
Previous subscribers can also upgrade and pay the difference with a prorata discount.
I signed up last Nov for £29.99 to top up to next July would cost me £18
Hopefully useful for someone

Also free for 12 months (entertainment) via SkyQ
6 months free (entertainment) for Vodafone pay monthly customers.

https://www.discoveryplus.co.uk/myaccount/products

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Media Boy Sources have told me that UKTV are thinking about setting up a paywall part of UKTVPlay that'll have W, ALIBI, Eden and GOLD on it.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

With the Sky free 12 months - you get Eurosport 1 and 2 but not the extra streams. I get Eursoport already for £19pa.

Their chat today said all Discovery+ subscribers (Entertainment only and sports too) will get all the Olympic stuff -but no evidence that is correct yet.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Media Boy Sources have told me that Disney+ are thinking about putting their price up to £12.99p/m sometime in 2022.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

l personally would be very surprised if it went up to that amount MB.

Here's exactly how much it cost after this year's Disney Plus price increase in some countries.


https://www.gamesradar.com/uk/disney...rice-increase/

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Is Media Boy Sources your mum, and this her way of telling you she’s not paying for Disney+ next year? :D

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Has anyone ever actually paid for Apple TV+?
I took out a 12 months free subscription in November 2019 and ever since October 2020 they have been crediting £4:99 to my account each and every month :)
Have I just been lucky or are all "subscribers" still getting it free?

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Our family has bought an Apple product just often enough over the last 3 years for us to keep getting it free. I won’t be renewing it if it starts costing though. There’s just not enough stuff on it I’m interested in.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I think streamers prefer to put increases through more gradually. A rise to £12.99pm is a large (>60%) increase and breaches the crucial £9.99 price point which I don't think they would want to breach for their current offering.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I just received this email - I won’t be renewing.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I'm currently on 12 months free after buying a Apple tv+ but once that free offer expires i won't be renewing, just not enough content there atm for me.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Hi guys, can anyone remember the name of the new Brian Cox Space series, I think it only started last week or so, and I thought I saw it advertised as being on BBC 4.

Thx

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Brian Cox's Adventures In Space And Time.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000wnk5

It's mostly a highlights series of his various shows, with some new developments tacked on to cover parts where new discoveries, theories, etc have rendered certain elements out of date.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Ah ok mate, cheers...:)

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Comcast just mentioned on their earnings call that they’re bringing Peacock to Europe - Sky customers get it at no extra cost but no other details as yet.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Here is the info on Peacock here

https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/artic...-coming-to-sky

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I just sped on my bicycle to post this dodging a crazy bus driver in process lol, you beat me to it. :D

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I'm very fortunate to have access to US Peacock, its a reasonably good service but seems more like NBC/Comcasts equivalent to Now and I wouldn't mind betting that despite the recent rebrand Now morphs into Peacock within a year or so.
Its already getting close to it, Peacock offers a free but limited ad supported tier, a $5 a month premium tier that has all content but still ads or a $10 a month (I think) tier that has all premium content ad free.
Now is not too far from the top two tiers (pricing excepted) already, it'll be interesting to see if a free tier follows.
I use the $5 a month service and the ads aren't too intrusive, especially when you consider this is a US service lol
This might actually be good news for UK consumers if they follow the US model but that as they say is a big if!

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Quite a bit of what's available on Peacock is available on Sky already.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

For £4p/m give and take exchange rates you get quite a lot including premier league football, live wwe ppvs it is exceptional value for money.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I find dipping into a streaming service for a month then cancelling is enough to allow me to watch everything I want to on each service. I signed up to Starzplay for a month, watched Mr Mercedes (outstanding), High Fidelity and The Act (both very good) and Castle Rock (not too bad) then cancelled. Not bad value for £4.99.
I'll sign up for another month of Apple TV+ if Foundation turns out to be as good as the trailer suggests but I'll wait until the whole of season 1 is available. Will watch s2 of The Morning Show that month, too. But won't hang around.
I recently cancelled Now as there's nothing on Sky Atlantic I'm interested in and won't be until Succession returns. With Disney+ I'm watching Loki and Wandavision then I'm out for a while. Don't have Prime at the moment but will sign up if they have anything of interest.
I like this new "in for a month" model (I have a Roku streamer). Only Virgin's Oomph channels and Netflix are permanent for me and that's because the whole family use them. The former will be reviewed when our 18-month deal expires next January. Netflix still has the only compelling content.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Sounds a bargain. I'm sure the UK rights will be different, as Premier League rights are far more expensive in their home country than the USA.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

That sounds a sensible approach, and this is what I mean when I say that the streamers can save you money.

The approach some take is to subscribe to them all at the same time and then complain about how expensive it is.

One qualification I always make these days is that sport can get rather expensive and I hope that will sort itself out before too much longer.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Best way to do it, i do similat but via Amazon channels one month shudder, then a month of Britbox, then a month of starzplay, netflix is one i keep. Hulu i dip in and out of as required too.
HBOMAX is kindly provided to me via a friend in USA in exchange for a slot on my Netflix.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Media Boy Sources say "Peacock will only be free for SKYQ customers. All other Sky customers will need to pay an estimated £4p/m."

At time of posting Peacock is not set to launch on Virgin Media.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

The version of Peacock on Sky will be the free version with advertisements. You only pay for the premium versions, of which there are two tiers.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

3 tiers actually (USA) free tier, $4.99 with limited adverts, $9.99 without adverts.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

He did say two pay tiers.
The top level still has ads on some programming - which tends to be the live stuff.
It is the pay tiers in the US which have WWE Network and live Premier League football.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I stand corrected, he did indeed say 3 tiers apologies to old boy for mis-reading his post.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No worries, Legendkiller. :)

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Media Boy Sources has given me the head up on an big announcement coming soon on an streaming service.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Sky Q has gone IPTV in Germany. This will almost certainly happen here as well shortly.

There are only 80 channels, although this reflects the fact that content is migrating to the streamers. UHD is missing also, although they say this can be added later.

It will be interesting to see at what point Sky abandon the satellite system for IPTV - it could come sooner than I expected.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2021...sky-q-over-ip/

---------- Post added at 11:24 ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 ----------

Anything less than Disney+ and Discovery+ will be a let down. Prepare for disappointment!

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No recording facility available though for Sky Q over IPTV.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I can't find the source to confirm the details of TV Box exclusivity part but Discovery+ launched on SkyQ in mid-November, so I don't see Discovery+ launching until that time this year on VM, as my recollection was it was 12 months exclusivity. I'll be expecting it on UK Roku about then at the very least, as it's available elsewhere in the world on that platform.

If anything new is coming soon to VM it'll be Disney+ or Apple+ in my opinion.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Will the big announcement be about an new streaming service coming to Virgin?

For all I know maybe the news on prices going up for services like Disney + and Discovery +.

All I was told "big announcement coming soon on an streaming service".

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Ah, so it's not necessarily VM related. Thanks for clarification.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

So they offer Sky Q over satellite, over cable and, now, a cut down version over IPTV for the same price. I'm not sure how that will work out. It is interesting that they are using an IPTV version of Sky Q rather than going with a beefed up version of Sky Ticket.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

That’s right. They argue the on demand services replace that, which I would be more than happy to accept if they didn’t pull some of the content after being up there for only a few weeks. That’s most unhelpful if you get locked out part way through a series.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Agreed, it can be frustrating.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

But on demand is just a bolt on extra at the moment. They are unlikely to have an unlimited supply of online storage. Streamers, on the other hand, will have invested far more in cloud storage to make much more content available at any given time.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Then it won't replace Satellite - probably to get more customers who cannot have a dish.

However, what is the difference to Now TV?

---------- Post added at 19:44 ---------- Previous post was at 19:42 ----------


On demand currently doesn't provide anything for a sports fan. WIthout recording I would be binning SkyQ.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

More info from My Sources. As of August 3rd at 7.40pm.

Media Boy Sources has reveal that an un - name streaming service is soon to launch on Virgin Media UK.

And my sources say this new streaming service is "an million pound deal for Virgin Media 02".

But I still get the name and prices details for this soon to launch on Virgin Media streaming service.

UPDATE: Virgin Media still to sign deal and talks are "ongoing".

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Which streamers are already integrated into VM?

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

From what I can make out, Sky Q over IPTV gives you about 80 channels and access to other streaming services such as Netflix, Prime and Disney +. It may also provide a live streaming service for your sport (similar to the streaming service on the BBC I-Player).

I think Sky will have to provide a ‘recording to the cloud’ ability if this is to catch on in a big way. The reduction in live channels will happen in the end in any case.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Clearly there is some difference as Sky Deutschland already has Now TV, although they call it Sky Ticket over there. https://skyticket.sky.de/

Maybe Now TV sounded too much like TVNow (RTL's streaming service). https://www.tvnow.de/rtl

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Netflix (TiVo only), Prime and StarzPlay. By ‘integrated’, I mean you can search and bookmark shows from these streamers on your box.

The players are too to some extent.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

So, the big mystery signing is Disney+ then …

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Is this the much longed-for QVC app launching as a VM exclusive? :D

---------- Post added at 20:40 ---------- Previous post was at 20:39 ----------

Old Boy beat you to it and I agree with you.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Reminds me of the Press Red Online Shopping they had in the Telewest era. :D

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I'm not really sure which way Sky is going with all these different products. If this was to launch over here we'd have Sky +HD , Sky Q over satellite , Sky Q over IP , Now TV and Peacock to launch at the end of the year talkabout confusing.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Yes, although don't forget in Germany they also offer Sky Q over cable too.

I suspect Peacock won't be sold on its own. It will be a tile on Sky and Now. I don't rule out Now being rebranded as Peacock in the long term but it's only just rebranded from Now TV so won't happen imminently!

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

That is going back a bit.:D

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Media Boy HQ has today been given the name of the streaming service that Virgin Media UK are in talks with over an launch.

All we are can say at time of posting it one of the following: Apple+, Disney + or Discovery +

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

l cannot see it being Apple + or Discovery + so that leaves Disney + which some forum members have already suggested.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Considering that’s all you can say, you’ve used a lot of words doing it. Are we supposed to be impressed that you have secret information about Disney+ coming to VM that you’re not allowed to share with us? :rofl:

Also, it’s not an HQ, it’s your bedroom.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

If you say so.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I believe I now will live to se the day when one of Old Boy's predictions comes true and that Disney+ will join VM. ;)

O2 was the mobile launch partner for Disney+ so connections there should have helped with VM getting Disney+ too.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

It will all come to pass, Andrew. You just have to be patient unless you discover a time warp I don’t know about!

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Nobody gets everything right, even with the rest of Time available.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Some struggle to get anything right in the same timeframe.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

True, but I think I'm on fairly safe ground with most of the things I have said on here about the future of TV, having read quite a lot about it.

However, nobody can foresee changes that come out of the blue which then have a knock-on effect in respect of the developments you thought would happen.

---------- Post added at 17:28 ---------- Previous post was at 17:26 ----------

I hope for your sanity and peace of mind, jfman, that there is at least one channel still standing by 2035. I am happy to be proved substantially right and for you to bask in the knowledge that you were completely right.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

The way the world is going maybe none of us will be watching TV by 2035.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Indeed, yes.

Now TV deal for all the Sky Sports channels. £20pm for ten months to cover the Premier League season. How much is it usually?

Try code SPM7N97WAGUJ8F

It's worked for two people so far.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

The name of the Streaming Service that Virgin Media are in talks with start with an "D" and end with an "+".;)

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I'm off for a lay down, the suspense is killing me

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I am not allow to post the name in full until deal has been signed. The First anyone may know the deal has been signed with an test for an Red Button Channel (Like Netfix and Prime Video) to appear on DBR for that streaming service.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Disney+ launching on Vodafone Spain

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Surely if the deal hasn't been signed, you don't have any 'secret' information.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Unless you’re actually involved in the negotiations you’re not allowed to know the name at all, and whoever told you has committed a sackable offence. So if I were you, I’d ease off on the “ha ha, I know but I can’t tell you” nonsense, because one of these days someone is going to get irritated enough to try to track down the data leak and one of your “contacts” will get in trouble.

Unless of course it actually isn’t all that serious, and you’re doing the whole secret information thing because it makes your bedroom HQ seem more impressive. ;)

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Credit where its due though, at least he didn't call it Media Boy Towers

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Can’t speak for Virgin Media but Sky are at it again…

https://www.skygroup.sky/en-gb/artic...ount-in-europe

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Well Sky UK do part own All Comedy Central and Nickelodeon branded channels anyway.

Also Comcast do Production programmes with CBS in the good old USA.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Being included if you have Sky Cinema is quite good, but I wonder how much it will cost otherwise aswell on other platforms

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

We must surely be approaching the time when most people will start ditching the pay-tv channels in favour of streaming and terrestrial channels only. Virgin need to start offering this option soon - this might be what their new box for broadband only customers might be designed to do for all customers eventually.

It doesn't make sense to be paying for both TV channels and streaming services when the content of the TV channels is also on the streamers.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Further devaluing your current Sky subscription , its now getting to the point where I say what exactly is the point of a Sky subscription.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

With most streamers having a silly amount of content individually, I'm amazed at the numbers who are subscribing to lots of them. Waste of money paying for something there isn't enough time in the day to use. Subscribe to one, get your fill, cancel and move onto the next one.

We're only subscribing to 1 and still 90% of our viewing time is via traditional channels live, timeshifting and their On-demand. Barely get our money's worth from that streamer. Only way to justify subscribing to more streamers, for us, would be to not have a life off the screen, or sleep.

The wider pot of content sources is via broadcast. It would be very easy, for us, to drop the streamer as it doesn't have wide enough a selection, and by quite a margin.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No point just buy a streaming device its much cheaper.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

We’ve been approaching for years by your count.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

What at it for playing smart and knowing how the streaming world is growing so investing in it?
It's called good business practise and is the way forward.
Edit: VM have quite a few things in the pipeline.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I recently realised the same the amount of TV I was paying for and not watching was ridiculous. I honestly would love to see how high some people's bills are.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Wasn’t criticising them in the slightest - it’s really good and given how they’re tied up here in the U.K. anyway with channels and ad sales, Sky are the natural partner for them (and this is probably the basis for rumours about Comcast and VCBS collaborating on international streaming).

It’s also really smart bundling this with Sky Cinema as a way of upselling.

Agree 100% they’re being smart and know the way the tide is moving - they’re shoring up their own content proposition and then augmenting each part of the bundle with an added service or benefit - plus this is very much in sync with Comcast’s plans for TVOS devices by using their own services as an anchor for others.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

But the base entry package to get all this devalues with each deal they announce , if you want all this content I'm not sure why you'd pay for Sky and its 18 month lock ins to get it but each to their own.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Personally i dropped SKY a few weeks back not even got a ariel connected just watch everything (legally) through my nvidia shield or fire tv cube nowadays much cheaper too i just rotate aroiund the streaming services as needed.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Couldn't agree more. I've recently cancelled Netflix (for the second time - last time was for three months two years ago) for exactly these reasons. Plus I've got plenty of blu rays & dvds I've never watched, not to mention purchased digital content.

I won't say I'll never subscribe to Netflix (or another streamer) again, but in future I'll just sub for a month at a time to watch a particular show, if I sub at all.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Do Netflix ever do retention or 'come back' deals?

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No, but they don’t tie you in to a contract either. You can come and go as you please.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I don’t think so, muppetman. You need to remember that these are AVOD streamers that are provided free of charge. It is also the half-way house to the eventual abolition of the pay-tv channels.

If the content is integrated into Sky’s system as they say it will, all the better. Everything on one box.

---------- Post added at 17:56 ---------- Previous post was at 17:53 ----------

If it was up to me, I would. However, my wife is tech-averse and is still trying to adjust to the 360.

If it’s all integrated into one box, it makes things so much easier than having to access multiple watchlists.

---------- Post added at 18:00 ---------- Previous post was at 17:56 ----------

And there are some years to go by my count.

However, if you cannot see what is happening before your very eyes, there’s not going to be anything I can do to make you see it.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

You are missing the main point you are still paying the best part of £45 plus just to get entry to these with Sky if you want HD and multiroom capability.

If you want streaming services its much better to elect for Freesat or Freeview topped up with the services of your choice you can then add/remove these as required.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I do hope so, Legendkiller. They are behind the curve at the moment, having started with great promise when they gave us Netflix.

---------- Post added at 18:05 ---------- Previous post was at 18:02 ----------

As I have explained, though, with all the streamers on the Sky system, you can access them all with just one watchlist.

Your original point was that the new AVOD streamers would devalue Sky, when all they are doing is adding free services without taking anything away. Surely, that’s added value?

---------- Post added at 18:08 ---------- Previous post was at 18:05 ----------

I can’t agree with that view at all for the reason I have given. Sky won’t lose any subscribers by what it has done - quite the contrary, I would have thought.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

As far as I'm aware I can't add things to one watch list on Sky Q and I'm still currently using the service. How are these additions free ? The Paramount + service requires you to have Sky Cinema which many don't have these days and last time I looked that was an additional £11.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

But isn’t that the beauty of the streamers? No contractual commitments, so you can chop and change every month if you want to.

---------- Post added at 18:15 ---------- Previous post was at 18:11 ----------

Yes, sorry, I didn’t realise you didn’t have Sky Cinema.

But I was sure you could bookmark Netflix and Prime shows on Sky - I thought it was supposed to be an integrated system. You can even do that on the V6.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Whatever happened to Sky Q via broadband?

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Integrated in that Amazon Prime and Netflix titles see showcased with the Sky On Demand content but that's about it as far as I'm aware.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Can you not bookmark on demand content though?

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

No don't think so

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

I’m seeing my daughter at the weekend and I will find out for you.

---------- Post added at 19:14 ---------- Previous post was at 19:09 ----------

It’s just launched….in Germany.

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2021...sion-of-sky-q/

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Okay Mystic Meg.

By definition I can only see the present with my “very eyes”. Your projections for the future are merely that - speculative, often based on what you desire to happen rather than the likelihood of them happening. Economics - which underpins the great capitalist endeavour - would indicate you are much further than you opine.

I’m still waiting on whether linear television as understood by the rest of the forum over IPTV is linear by your own definition. Which as we all know would significantly negate your ability to further shift the goalposts as you have done before.

Re: Streaming services news, offers and general chit chat
 

Does the Sky integrated search return results include services you're not subscribed to?

---------- Post added at 23:04 ---------- Previous post was at 22:58 ----------

That's a shame, but last time I looked Netflix was only £4 via Sky with free HD/UHD if you already subscribed to those services.

Now TV can be had for as little as £1 a month with retention deals. I wonder if free Paramount+ will be added to Sky Cinema when bought through Now TV?

I find that Sky Cinema is usually a lot cheaper through Now TV than via VM, but I still don't find it worth subscribing to.