Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

I don't think ITV actually shows anything i watch...

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Sorted that for you......:D

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

:)

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Gosh that's even higher than the £120m I suggested earlier. I have to admit, I prefer your figure. In fact, let's make it £160m.

Fine. ITV are complaining about the large number of viewers getting their PSB service for free on VM, let's see how they explain the loss of that large amount of viewers to their advertisers. Advertisers certainly aren't going to continue paying the same amount for an advertising slot with a (potentially) significantly reduced audience.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

AFAIK VM take ITV SD from the Astra satellite and ITV HD is line fed.

I wonder if VM contingency plans mean taking the FTA HD feed from Astra?? Presumably if they refuse to pay the retransmission fee, ITV would cut the line feed off.

But wouldn't this still mean that VM are retransmitting the channel and leave them open to legal action?

I wonder if this will mean us losing ITV2 HD, ITV3 HD and ITV4 HD as these are encrypted on satellite.

Also, I wondered if their contingency plans somehow meant them taking a non Astra satellite feed to get round the issue, but the only non Astra satellites that carry ITV are encrypted and meant for our forces based overseas (BFBS).

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

A few years ago there was a streaming site and app that showed most of the freeview channels, they got taken to court by the broadcasters as it was an unauthorised retransmission. They lost and had to stop showing all the channels apart from the main ones, BBC1, ITV1, CH4 and CH5.

I can't for the life of me remember what the site/app was called but after that court ruling VM would be able to retransmit the ITV channel i'm sure.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Wasn't it TVCatchup?

https://tvcatchup.com

Edit: Looks like it's as you say, just channels 1-5 now (plus some extra ones like shopping channels that would be happy to give permission).

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

I'm not sure about that. I know that VM doesn't have all of the ITV +1 regional variations available on other platforms. Presumably if filling in the gaps is as simple as taking the missing feeds from Astra they would have done that already.

That's up to the courts and/or up to the Government to be more specific about the legislation. Which, of course, should have happened at the Bill stage. This is hardly an unforeseen outcome of the legislation.

It shouldn't as those channels are subject to an existing, apparently long-term, contract.

My personal preference is for ITV to cut the feed and be left to suffer a loss of advertising revenue until they come to their senses. Certainly don't allow them to return to VM without paying a penalty charge for the inconvenience caused. Then encourage third parties to take action against ITV for not upholding the "must offer" requirement of their PSB licence.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

ITV could argue they are providing to VM customers, they just need an aerial & TV like everyone else.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Exactly, we don't need ITV main channel as much as ITV needs us viewers, as others have said loss of viewers = loss of advertising revenue.

Certainly hope VM calls their bluff.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Itv can't cut the feed. Freesat uses it

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

I meant the line feed as opposed to the satellite signal.

---------- Post added at 12:50 ---------- Previous post was at 12:13 ----------

Actually, this thing about VM showing one ITV region across the whole country is probably a tactic being threatened by them.

There is no technical reason why Virgin Media couldn't take FTA satellite feeds for all of the regions, the UK wide thing sounds like a clever threat to scare ITV into backing down.

Very few viewers would quit Virgin because they couldn't get their own region because most of the output is now exactly the same, however, ITV's advertising revenues would be seriously harmed.

It would also be a lot simpler for Virgin to only use one region should it go down this route.

The only thing that viewers might miss would be the local news; with many switching to the BBC.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

I agree with this. I would not miss having my own region these days and I shouldn't think that too many people would be bothered about it either.

In my opinion, the BBC regional news programmes are better than ITV's anyway. If this is ITV's key bargaining chip, it's the least convincing negotiating ploy I've ever seen! ITV is overreaching itself, methinks.

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Regional news usually = Murder, rape, GBH and local non-entities, Really depresses me and its the same in each region !

Re: ITV threaten to blackout on Virgin
 

Yes, if only they would leave out the local non-entities! :D

Seriously, though, it's depressing to see what the news has come to, I agree. When I was a kid, I was allowed to watch the news, but these days they just seem to report the violence, political indiscretions and child abuse. I wouldn't allow kids to watch the local or national news these days. I think they should keep all that stuff out of the daytime/early evening schedules when children could be watching. There's plenty of other stuff they could be reporting on, but they seem to go for the salacious material that will help to prevent butterfly minded people from channel-hopping away. Pandering to the lowest common denominator, as usual.

:rant:

From my own personal point of view, if they took ITV off VM, it would make no difference to me as I record all the terrestrial programmes I watch onto my DVD recorder via my aerial. I only record those channels onto the V6 if they are programmes my wife wants to watch as she cannot cope with recordings on the DVD recorder! I feel a training session coming on!