Cable Forum - Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

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Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 35964159)

The thing is for a cable co, unless it gains ownership of the content (at production level) rather than a distributor, then it is far more profitable for them to be the pipe and leave everyone else in a bidding war.

The best thing to happen to Virgin was BT/Sky in a bidding war for Premiership rights. The squeeze on broadband/line rental ended, allowing Virgin to raise their prices in line with the rest of the market. Yes, in turn Virgin have a wholesale deal with BT, but it will be small beer when you think line rental and broadband have creeped up for the entire customer base.

All true, but the pipes are still a means to a end.

People don't want fast broadband because they need 200mb connection for email, they need it for gaming and services such as what the streamers offer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by muppetman11 (Post 35964161)

I've just been looking at the shows on Netflix and there's a fair amount of content even some labelled as Netflix Originals that are either NBC Universal , Disney or Fox shows.

With these companies expanding their distribution footprints I can see these kind of things ending.

NBC Universal for instance can easily distribute it's shows in Europe using Sky after takeover and with a OTT service can look even further afield thus not needing Netflix.

With spoken about this in the linear/streaming threads, but with hundreds of channels AND streaming apps, something has to give at some point.

With Disney withdrawing their new content from Netflix in America next year, that's the first salvo fired with the likely conclusion that media companies will only have their own content on their own apps in the future.

It's why Netflix is spending billions on original content now while it can, as it knows it will eventually lose all third party content at some point in the future.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 35964186)

Are shows popular because they are on Netflix, or is Netflix popular because of the content they have?

If it’s popularity is that it is a low price alternative to mainstream pay-tv then the answer is to push its own content through Now TV.

Sky is launching its full IPTV service next year, or was, but perhaps in the end as I believe Comcast will use the Sky name for its own streaming service, Sky will ultimately morph from a satellite tv company to Comcast's global streaming app and it may well look far more like Now Tv than the planned full IPTV service.

As to your popularity question, no doubt its probably a bit of both. But as Netflix has become mainstream, clearly its more than just the brand that attracts people. They have awful stuff, but they also have some really great things too and a lot easier to find than flicking through hundreds of channels.

---------- Post added at 22:47 ---------- Previous post was at 22:40 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35964097)

It's certainly not crazy.

VM is the only cable company in the UK, it's main profits come from internet provision with Pay TV as secondary with the majority of that revenue made up of reselling SKY channels.

Comcast is a cable company who now owns SKY so their best bet moving forward is a merge or takeover of VM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfman (Post 35964115)

Virgin and Sky in the UK are only part of wider operations.

By that logic would Comcast/Liberty seek to merge their operations all over Europe? Is that a serious prospect that regulators will entertain? Highly doubtful in my view, although I do accept the point that in the UK market at least (from the consumer point of view) Virgin/Sky essentially offer the same service at similar prices and the “competition” doesn’t do anything to keep prices down.

Final ponder from me tonight on a possible future Comcast/VM relationship.

Rather than going down the merger route, could Comcast simply do a deal with VM to pump Comcast's services down VM's cables? Or, and more likely, they do a deal to allow Comcast access to VM's ducts??

Comcast is cable tv/broadband company to its core. I highly doubt they will spend billions more now building their own UK cable network, which means using someone else's infrastructure. And there's only two choices, continue to piggyback off BT's poles or do a deal with VM.

And to the earlier reply about Liberty Global and Comcast coming together, I think it is very possible, might even throw Vodafone into the mix too.

Lots more media mergers to come, I believe.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

I agree on the point about a lot of rubbish on Netflix, but it does have shows people talk about and does appeal to people who don’t want to scroll through hundreds of channels.

It also appeals where people don’t want to watch “one per week” and who want to catch up because everyone in work is talking about it but have missed the whole first season. People can catch up at their convenience.

A worldwide content provider/platform who wanted to put the squeeze on that potentially could find it quite easy. It’s profits aren’t huge considering it’s outlay if you had incentive to squeeze it.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

21st Century Fox agrees to sell 39% Sky stake to Comcast

https://news.sky.com/story/21st-cent...mcast-11509405

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Bye Rupert!:)

He may have brought us choice, but there was a heavy price to pay and I just don't mean in our wallets either.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horizon (Post 35964540)

Bye Rupert!:)

He may have brought us choice, but there was a heavy price to pay and I just don't mean in our wallets either.

What price and paid by whom?

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35964548)

What price and paid by whom?

Too much influence over politicians..So basically when policy is decided through the influence of press barons it's us.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

And Comcast are going to be different.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35964561)

And Comcast are going to be different.

Why not? They are American and don't sell newspapers in the UK and Murdoch doesn't own them.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horizon (Post 35963855)

It will just replace one media mogul with another.

Look at the quality of ABC News (Disney) or NBC/CNBC/MSNBC (Comcast) to see the likely future...

Watch them a lot do you ? Russia today is good I hear !

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggy J (Post 35964583)

Why not? They are American and don't sell newspapers in the UK and Murdoch doesn't own them.

And American companies don't have any influence over American Senators or Congressmen.

Why should they act any different here?

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35964645)

And American companies don't have any influence over American Senators or Congressmen.

Why should they act any different here?

Murdoch had far too much power here glad he lost some of it now

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip08456 (Post 35964548)

What price and paid by whom?

Just a belated reply to this:

The price is to the British broadcasting system as we knew it, which, while it had its faults, was still the best in the world. And by whom, is us. By having a weakened domestic broadcasting landscape has weakened our culture, in exchange for Murdoch's choice of hundreds of channels.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Comcast confirmed today it has bought Murdoch's stake in Sky to give it control of the company:

https://news.sky.com/story/james-mur...ntrol-11522135

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Sky ceases to be a company today as it gets de-listed from the London Stock Exchange, completing Comcast's takeover of it.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...sition-1158044

The EC has approved the Disney/Fox deal but Disney will have to give up its 50% stake in A&E Networks in the EEA. As the UK is still in this area at the moment, this includes us too. THe channels affected are History, H2, Crime & Investigation, Lifetime and Blaze.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...itions-1148195

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Clearly Comcast will stick with the Sky name and current team in Europe and look to push into new countries within Europe.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Sky adds more customers in the first quarter of 2019.

https://www.telecompaper.com/news/co...rowth--1290227

Quote:

Sky added a net 112,000 customers in Q1, better than the 38,000 a year ago, for a total of 23.712 million at the end of June.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Sky increases their subscriber base.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2020...eid=3598503789

Quote:

Sky’s increase of 77,000 subscribers in the last quarter helped buoy parent company Comcast. Over the course of the 12 months Sky grew its ‘customer relationships’ comprising TV, broadband and telephony subscriptions by 394,000.

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Sky to hike their prices from the 1st of April.

Quote:

Sky Broadband Essential (its basic broadband package) will rise by £2/month (it's currently £20/month for customers in contract and will move to £22/month).

Sky Entertainment (its base TV package that most will have) will rise by £2/mth (it's currently £22/mth for customers in contract, moving to £24/mth).

Sky TV Multiscreen will rise by £1/mth (it's currently £13/mth for customers in contract, moving to £14/mth).

Sky HDTV will rise by £1/mth (it's currently £5/mth for customers in contract, moving to £6/mth).

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...-for-millions/

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

BT Sport is now available on Sky. A combined Sky Sports and BT Sport package will cost £35.

https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2020...with-bt-sport/

Re: Merged:-Comcast makes Bid for Sky

Sky introduces new Netflix bundle.

https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2020...eid=3598503789

Quote:

Sky Ultimate TV on Sky Q is priced at £25, which the platform says is the lowest price available for the combination. The price then rises to £29 per month after the introductory offer period.