Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Where does he say that? They are not going to invest in tivo and then give up on their tv platform.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

With all the Digital copyright issues now surely people don't currently need 200mb Internet now , seems strange when the best bt can muster is 40 mb with one or two areas getting FTTH at around 100mb.

---------- Post added at 23:12 ---------- Previous post was at 23:06 ----------


I can understand it's hard to get a sky content but what about the other missing HD channels ESPNA HD , Disney XD HD , Nat Geo Wild HD , Eden HD , ITV HD channels , Universal HD , History HD and Food HD.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Nobody's going to tell me then how they have come to the conclusion that VM are giving up on tv scrapping ESPN etc. based on one newspaper article when they are just about to roll out tivo? I've read the article and I'm not seeing it.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I have emailed mr berkett`s office regarding the guardian article in the hope that he as been misquoted and more for reasurrance,I have emailed his office in the past and have found them very helpfull.Here`s hoping they are still the same

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I agree with you up to a point Muppetman but you said yourself that you are better off financially with VM. They have decided to go the way of adding as much HD as possible without charging for it. That works better for me but admittedly it wont for everybody.

---------- Post added at 23:21 ---------- Previous post was at 23:17 ----------

Good idea Howard. I still cant see anything in the article to get excited about but the reply will be interesting. In a brief article where the journalist has to minimise what has actually been said it is easy for things to be taken out of context anyway.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

You talk a lot of sense however if VM are upto the maximum HD channels they can afford to add free to XL then they should look at a HD+ pack at say £5.00 for people who want some of the missing channels I've listed. Then the choice is yours.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Please let us know what reply you get. But the article was in the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...and-speed.html

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yeah post it.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Basically when Virgin Media make ESPN a premium only channel and I mean WHEN because it WILL happen I will move to Sky. Not really fussed about On Demand because I dont really use it as it has episodes missing etc.

I would rather pay 50p extra for Sky as they have loads more channels loads more HD channels (yes i understand there is a £10.?? charge for HD channels but am already paying £7 for HD premiums so not that far there.

And now Neil has said he has given up on TV in which we can tell I certinely wont be paying over £200 pounds for a Tivo box no matter how good or bad it is.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I'm happy with Virgins strategy of waiting a while and getting the channels at a lower cost

Happy not to have to pay extra to view the HD versions

As for the missing channels like ITV2 HD, don't watch the SD version so not missing the HD channel. Sky Arts HD, don't have interest in the channel. However I do love Film4 HD and I wouldn't be able to get that on Sky, would like SS3HD and SS4HD but at least we have two of the 4 channels in HD, Sky News HD whats the point?

Haven't seen anything of interest on Sky Atlantic, and no doubt once August comes and Sky restrict which of its own viewers can see it, it will come to Virgin

I thought almost everyone in the business agrees that the future is VOD rather than linear channels, with Virgins infustructure and great broadband for IPTV where does this leave Sky in the future?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I agree 100% but the one gripe that i have got is that with the first 2 that you have mentioned are ESPNA HD and DISNEY XD HD is that they have now got someone who used to work the the company and they still cannot get the channels:confused:

But she has done a good job whilst been in the position that she has taken.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yes Cindy Rose worked with Disney before arriving at VM , there are no kids HD channels on VM yet , I believe Sky has two Disney XD HD and NickElodeon HD.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Will do,But i suspect the article will be in more papers tomorrow.Would not be surprised if something isnt mentioned in the sun newspaper tomoz,But sky are gonna jump on this.
Soz ment telegraph,getting my papers mixed up lol

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

No disrespect here Muppetman but surely kids HD channels are not top priority. I don't believe my children would either notice of care that the picture and sound quality was great. They just want to laugh, sing and dance when watching their favourite shows, not sit back and admire the crisp picture and vivid colour.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Isn't that where TIVO comes in

Hurry up and get the bugs sorted out, I want it ASAP

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yes TIVO should help with this , very often VM label VOD content wrong , have series in the wrong order or episodes missing this can be really frustrating.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

So.....from 1 to 26 HD channels; All VOD services from terrestrial broadcasters (the only platform who can make that claim); Sky 1 HD; Sky Sports HD; Sky Red Button; Sky VOD content; World-class PVR exclusive UK rollout; TiVo STB unification over the next few years; Film 4 HD exclusive; TV network unification; Analogue switch-off completion; NGTV rollout completion; Network/TV service availability expansion and 80 HD channels within the next 3 years is 'no hint of improvement' and anyone who thinks otherwise is 'deluded'?

:confused:

OK, sure.

People need to get some perspective here - Sky's marketing budget is more than what ITV spends on making programmes.

And people really think that Virgin can seriously take on Sky for Pay TV content? Seriously? Its a war that Virgin can't win, against a competitor with deep pockets and almost 100% potential customer coverage of the UK compared to Virgin's....what, 53%?

Virgin are right to focus on delivering content. Loads of cable companies worldwide do that and many of them are doing just fine.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yeah please post if you get a reply.

"In Berkett's world, there is no such thing as television. TV is simply part of the digital mix, where computers, mobiles and a host of other devices converge."

The future sounds great if you have a quadruple subscription along with TIVO. Doesn't sound too exciting for people with just a TV subscription.

"Not long ago, it was a race to attract the most pay-TV customers – until that is, the realisation that fighting to attract Sky's loyal customer base was near impossible."

Who are Virgin trying to attract these days then? SKY are pumping millions into advertising, and seem to be specifically targeting Freeview customers. Are Virgin just trying to get people onto broadband, then hope they opt to take some TV package at the same time?

Once the Digital Economy Act is enforced, people will be changing broadband provider not based on speeds, but based on who refuses to send letters to their customers and who refuses to release their customers personal details.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

You forgot to mension we dont get Sky Sports HD 3 and 4 and News HD :rolleyes:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Content exactly that is what people are asking for. Where did you get 80 HD channels from I have never seen that figure mentioned?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I have seen that. I think it was in a financial results conference.

If you read the article properly (not aimed at you alwaysabear) then Neil goes on to champion the beginnings of TiVo on VM.

His vision is about the digital world of broadband connected tv (TiVo) , not trying to compete for Sky's customer base.

The headline is grabbing, but very misleading.

Full article here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...and-speed.html

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

[QUOTE=HDFootyMan;35157659]So.....from 1 to 26 HD channels; All VOD services from terrestrial broadcasters (the only platform who can make that claim); Sky 1 HD; Sky Sports HD; Sky Red Button; Sky VOD content; World-class PVR exclusive UK rollout; TiVo STB unification over the next few years; Film 4 HD exclusive; TV network unification; Analogue switch-off completion; NGTV rollout completion; Network/TV service availability expansion and 80 HD channels within the next 3 years is 'no hint of improvement' and anyone who thinks otherwise is 'deluded'?

80 HD channels in the next three years? Which ones would they be! Seriously though and with respect I think that is a wildly speculative thing to say, you may be right but I doubt it personally.

I don't know why people are so shocked my Mr Berkett's reported comment's, i'm not one bit and I like his frankness. It's pointless VM trying to steal Sky's customers, they won't and certainly not because of a STB. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if VM in the future dosen't offer linear TV services at all, ive always held that view. The new STB is a lot more capable than the old ones for use with non linear content so maybe that's where they see their future and I don't blame them but that would be a long term change if indeed if even happens.

Regarding the comments on Sky's marketing budget (which I agree is huge) I am pretty certain that the quoted budget also includes the very high cost of supplying free or subsidised kit and the associated costs of getting it into homes, it isn't all spent on advertising. For accounting reasons BSkyB class this as 'marketing'. Nevertheless they obviously spend a lot on advertising, and well they might because it's clearly works. BT must spend a huge amount too.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Well, I for one wouldn't swap Virgin for Sky. I was with Sky up until about 98 whn they let me down badly - I don't forgive and forget that easily!

Apart from that - VM are going in the right direction and if they can supply a 'one for all' box with Tivo (TV / OD / Internet such as You Tube, podcasts, radio etc) then that is more than I could hope for. Their network is built for this type of convergence, so I don't see how they won't proceed along that path.

As people have mentioned, linear TV is *not* the future, you can see it know with the number of programmes watched on iPlayer etc. Choose what you want, when you want is the way ahead. I am pretty sure sitting down and watching a programme you want to watch at a set time doesn't fit with a fair number of peoples lives any more. For this reason VM wins hands down.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I am surprised he has given this type of interview at this time, it would have been beter to wait until after tivo had launched. Maybe he has been misquoted.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The gist of what the article says is a frank assessment of the pay TV world we find ourselves in. Virgin haven't and never have had a chance of ever toppling BSkyB as the pay TV powerhouse in this country and what the article suggests about not going after Sky's TV customers is spot on, it would be waste of time and resources.

What VM can do with Tivo is pitch it at higher tier subscribers and offer a lot more than linear content, even more non linear content than we get now, muddy the waters between TV and the internet if you like. Get them signed up for a decent period and see how it goes. If anyone was in any doubt about Tivo's place in the big picture shouldn't have any doubt now, it isn't going to be aimed at stealing average Joe from Sky (I don't think it ever was), in my opinion it will take a few years to get it into 10% of their own customers homes at current prices let alone pinch Sky's average punter. Now if VM get a decent slice of their own customers signed up to a high tier of service and sign a new contract then in my eyes it's job done. I would imagine in TV terms Tivo hasn't really even been that expensive a project for VM, I doubt we are talking hundreds of millions of pounds. Certainly less than the £160m they got for, in my opinion, the correct sale of VMtv.

What the article quite rightly acknowledges is that Sky have pretty much got the average Joe group of TV customers cornered, VM is never going to be able to compete at that level of customer who just want a PVR that's cheap, or free and the widest choice of TV channels. VM will probably have a hard enough job convincing the 3/4 of their own customer base who don't even have V+ first but so long as they can get a big chunk of those big spending customers aboard they have done really well and I sincerely hope they do purely on competition grounds but the market will decide as it always does and should.

But we will have a far better picture of the future when BSkyB is (probably?) sold to News Corp, there is a real opportunity to examine Sky's policy over access to their content and it should be forensically scrutinised if News Corp are indeed successful in buying the remaining share. If the sale just goes through unchallenged then I think Virgin and everyone else may as well consider giving up on Pay TV altogether at some point.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

And we don't have the red button, just a rumour so far.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

But some form of it is coming soon although I sort of understand people's frustration, it sounds like a big technical job and I have absolutely no reason to doubt the staff on here who are on a whole very helpful.

The moral of the article which has been discussed on here for me is that put simply VM isn't Sky and vice versa. We should change provider if we want virtually every channel and interactive service that's available, if you cant change then basically it's tough luck. No one else offers all Sky's content either but no one else currently offers elements of VM's TV content too, certainly not all the catch up (I accept you can get this and more content on a PC though which I sometimes do myself). What would be the point if they offered exactly the same choice, there wouldn't be much of a choice to make then.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Great post mersey70

The only part I disagree with is that obviously the people supposedly in the know post what's "coming soon" in good faith generally are proved to be completely inaccurate. This frustrates people couplef with the fact that virgin tell us nothing about improvements on the tv side Looks like Sky and Virgin will specialise in different areas. Just don't understand why some on here seem to have this blind you cannot criticise virgin, sky are evil mentality, it's both childish and pathetic IMHO.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

In fairness most things that don't happen at all were merely rumours from people who are not staff, that seems to have died down in the last few months. What has been announced by VM will happen, when though I don't know. I certainly agree that some people can be very biased where VM and Sky are concerned. I don't get that myself as they are both merely service providers, much like utility companies in my eyes. I personally couldn't care less who provides my services so long as I get what I want at the right price which right now is VM. If I held stock in either I might have a different view but I dont, if I was staff I might have a different view but i'm not.

If we accept VM for what they are it would be better but VM are not Sky and never will be, Mr Berkett seems to get that and the same applies the other way around. There's pluses and minuses on both sides

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The quote you posted specifically referred to Sky Atlantic HD and not the SD version. There is no evidence from that quote that Sky want to withhold the content.

Sky isn't a monopoly though. And pay tv prices are very reasonable in the UK. Comparing it to other activities, it is cheap.

Taking the example of Sky Atlantic, it is free to Sky customers. It costs them nothing. Under regulation, if this was made available to all platforms at the same price then either Sky's sub would go up or profits go down. Either way Sky is worse off for paying for HBO content and putting it on to a channel.

Like I said Sky isn't a monopoly. Regulating a company that isn't a monopoly is like punishing it for being too successful. And regulation in non monopoly situations will inevitably be to weaken that company's position which will one way or another lead to higher prices.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Insist as some people do there is no evidence at all that Sky are 'withholding' Atlantic, if they were then lord knows what VM (who have confirmed they are) in negotiations for, now whether they are pricing competitors out is another matter altogether but I guess in theory they both conclude with the same outcome.

Let's also be clear that Sky Atlantic is only 'free' for a limited period of time, I think in August it becomes part of the Variety Pack and the HD version is only available to HD pack customers from launch. In my opinion 'free' is a very loose term that both VM and Sky use at times, a bit along the lines of the much mooted 'unlimited' word that ISP's and mobile operators often use.

Of course you are correct that Sky isn't a monopoly and it is a nonsense to suggest they are, however whether they are abusing their dominant market position in premium pay content is another argument altogether but that is upto the regulator to decide. A thorough review is needed perhaps when looking at the sale of BSkyB and if they decide all is in order then that's fine, if not then something needs to be done.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

there adverts is prove that trhey withholding they made it plain from the start it sky exclusive and you only got to look at they track record about withholding channels to see this sky only want a monopoly and if murdoch gets 100% contorl nothing will stop them becoming one then prices will rocket upwards

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

TiVo has launched though, maybe not available to everyone yet but it is out there for 500 staff.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Exclusive and withholding mean totally different things.

It could be all manner of reasons why it will be exclusive, I accept it has the same outcome for VM/BT viewers though.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/External...xUeXBlPTM=&t=1

"we are providing 300 standard definition channels, 30 HD channels at the moment, but with a path to grow to 80 HD channels over the next two years, or three years."

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The way it seems to me is that Sky Atlantic is just a huge PR excercise for now. Eventually it will just become any old Sky channel that is nothing more special than the other Sky channels.

I'm still not clear why the regulator would look into Sky's dominant position specifically in reference to VM. Sure the position is dominant but why should VM be protected when VM are going ahead and selling Sky its channels anyway.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

sky exclusive means they never had any intention of letting anyone else have it meaning they withholding it look at there track record for withholding channels plain to see

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for clearing that up, maybe you should tell Mr Berkett to stop wasting his time then.

---------- Post added at 09:15 ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 ----------

You make a very good point about VM selling their channels, of course they didn't have to.

What I think might be useful is if Sky did indeed enter an agreement (as they seem to have with VM, no one for sure knows though if this included future channel launches) where they agree access to all of their basic HD channels is that they are not circumventing such agreements by pricing them unreasonably and again I am speculating on whether that has happenned too, there could be all manner of reasons why certain channels are not available on VM, I really do not know. No one on here does.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

As I always say on here why do virgin spend so much time chasing Sky channels when there are lots of other good HD channels out there.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I'm slightly confused at peoples reactions to the Telegraph article. He's talking about not going for Sky customers via the pay TV platform but via their digital network. He's not saying they have given up on pay TV just that Sky will always have more linear content (but not more on nonlinear).

As a side note (and I know it's a ways off) I personally see the death of linear content delivery, it's just such an old fashioned idea and highly inconvenient.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The only thing that concerns me here is that we are actually talking about a position where pre Atlantic HD, Sky actually went ahead and weakened their own position. Sky 1 is an important channel for alot of people. And Sky actually charge their customers a sub of £10 per month to receive the the HD version of this channel.

Now Sky consolidated their position over BT Vision firstly removing SSN from Freeview in response to making SS1 and SS2 to BT Vision customers and then via the purchase of VM channels they will remove Channel One from Freeview which it would seem is an important channel for Freeview.

However in this process they weakened their position to VM as for the average viewer with no premium subs or HD subs they probably get a better deal on VM as they at least get some HD channels in their basic sub as well as actually get Sky 1 HD included. Sure Sky will always have more channels but for the average viewer VM does cover the basics.

Atlantic HD is Sky's strike back to this. It just seems to me specifically in relation to how things have transpired over the last few months, VM aren't actually the weaklings in this industry. If anything, VM have many advantages on their platform and Sky having to make its channels available under a structure where VM do not continue to sub their HD would be unfair. If HD content was charged the same way on both, then that would be fair but then inevitably VM customers would have to pay more and customers not wishing to do so would lose what they already have for HD.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I do agree to a point, Look at Film4 HD, what a scoop - shame it has adverts (that advertise sky broadband), virgin could target other very good channels and offer to operate and broadcast an HD variant at no extra cost to channel owner, with the right to pass stream on to other platform providers for a small carriage charge, or for access to other platform providers channels. Dont know if it is viable to do that, but offering VM exclusive HD channels would certainly be a thing to look at. I have to admit though some of the programs that are launching on atlantic hd do look good, but because im commited to supporting the best broadband around, i may need to find them and view them by other means ;)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Sky always say HD when they mention channels. I've seen sky customers complain that if you were to go by their advertising their content isn't available on sd channels. I really don't know how much clearer they could be when they say they are using this channel to further grow the content gap between themselves and other platforms.
The rest of your post and subsequent posts just seem to be taking the side of a company who are misusing their dominant position to the detriment of the general public. Like Mersey70 has said, with a bit of luck this might looked in to the competition commission who will hopefully take into account the interests of us customers and not Just Sky's interests. Whatever happens Sky will be laughing all the way to the bank. If they were to make this channel available to all platforms they would make more money out of it but they wouldn't be using their dominant position to poach customers off other platforms. And wouldn't that be more advantageous to us customers?

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

VM have been trying poach customers from Sky too though. That is just the way the market works.

Sky have made available Sky 1 HD, SS1 and SS2 HD, Movies in HD and will be making red button available to VM soon. So contrary to popular belief Sky aren't actually hogging their material and the content did eventually be made available to VM.

Also please look at VM's pricing structure. It is not compatible with Sky's pricing structure. There can never possibly be competition wholly on a platform basis until VM drop its free HD to XL customers for basic channels. This will lead to either price increases for VM customers or loss of channels that are HD. The reality is that consumers are probably in the best place right now or possibly close to it.

And like I said before, VM sold its channels to Sky because it wanted to. No regulator is seriously going to look into basic packages knowing that the two main pay tv providers are happy with the market place and are offering competitive packages.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

This would never have happened without the sale of VMtv.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thank you SP for supplying the link.
I do hope VM are going to supply all these extra 50 HD channels over the next few years.;)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Right, I have to say something on this. If some people on here had their way Virgin would pay silly money for Sky Atlantic and all our bills would have to go up to pay for it. Instead Virgin are rightly waiting for the advertisers to have a go at Sky and force them to make it available to Virgin Media at a much lower cost sot that it can be included in the XL package for example. If you look desperate to get something from Sky they'll fleece you. We'll obviously get it in the end. I for one would be disappointed if our bills had to go up substantially just to please a few people who demand Sky Atlantic now and would probably then never watch it and demand something else we haven't got.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Here is the list of channels that Virgin can go after RIGHT NOW (Bar the Sky Branded channels):

=== Own by AETN UK ===
Bio HD
Crime & Investigation Network HD
HISTORY HD

=== Own by ABC Television Group ===
Disney Cinemagic HD
Disney XD HD

=== Own by ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company/Hearst Corporation) ===
ESPN America HD

=== Own by ITV Digital Channels Ltd ===
ITV2 HD
ITV3 HD
ITV4 HD

=== Own by NBC Universal Global Networks ===
Universal Channel HD

=== Own by NGC Europe Limited ===
Nat Wild HD

=== Own by Rainbow Media ===
Rush HD
Sundance Channel HD

=== Own by Scripps Networks Interactive (Run by Chello Zone) ===
Food Network HD*** (Soon to start broadcasting).

=== Own by Twenty Four 7 Ltd. ===
Luxury Life HD

=== Own by UKTV ===
Eden HD
Good Food HD

=== Own by Viacom ===
Nickelodeon HD


***Virgin Media are rumoured to be set to sell their 50% of UKTV to Scripps Networks Interactive so Virgin may launch Food Network Channels as part of deal.

http://www.newstatesman.com/broadcas...y-british-uktv

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Out of that list Media Boy I would like to see ESPNA HD , Nat Wild HD, Universal Channel HD and the remaining ITV HD channels purely for the odd US series on them and movies.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I can't believe soooo many people moan about Virgin on here and slate those Virgin Media employee's who actually come on here in their own free time to assist us all and provide information to us as and when they can.

I currently have VIP 50 with the extra box being a V+ too, I have the extra V+ box included thanks to a dire broadband service I received last year and this was their goodwill gesture.

I was previously a Sky HD subscriber and the main reason for joining VM Tv was cost, now I have VM I could not do without the On demand that VM has to offer. Also having 3 tuner's is valuable when your Mrs like's to record every reality show that's on Tv!!! Sky keep trying to get me back with offering their top package at half price which would save me money, unfortunately they do not offer on Demand so I will be staying where I am.

VM's broadband when it works is second to none, the on demand of their TV is superb and is only going to get better.

I have signed up my interest for TiVo and will take it up from day 1 as the current HDD in my Samsung V+ is just not big enough end of, the fact is does so much more is a huge bonus.

Thanks to all that provide valuable info to this thread, I may not post often but I do check this site every day and this is where I learn what is coming soon to VM!!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

That's another 17 channels a year if we go over 3 years , as we now have 29.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

You are joking aren't you. :)
We have only got those now as part of the deal where VM sold their channels to Sky. No sooner was the ink dry on that agreement and Sky started up another channel announcing it was to keep the content gap between them and other platforms. I really don't know what Sky would have to do before you would say that there way where using their dominant position against our interests.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Hear blooming Hear !

Only rider - Tivo will only have 2 tuners at launch - will probably be updated fairly soon afterwards though

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Lets not forget you can still only ever watch one channel at a time, and all the programmes are always repeated at some stage, why the panic on how many channels we should be getting, I'll put money on Sky Atlantic replacing Sky 3 at some stage, and as sky get bored they will introduce Sky Atlantic 2 which will be another watered down version of Atlantic sky1 and sky2.

---------- Post added at 13:30 ---------- Previous post was at 13:26 ----------

Is there a technical fault with the forum, the V+ is in with the tv service.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

If you actually look at the transactions, VM didn't exactly walk away with nothing. They walked away with the red button which was a huge unique selling point for Sky.

More to the point, if you look at Virgins packages the M+ with any other VM service is £6.50. VM are actually offering Sky1, 2 and 3, Sky Sports News and Sky News for peanuts. The facts are that Sky have actually made their channels available on a much lower package on VM than they do on their own.

If the pay tv market taken as just Sky and VM, then VM actually make up 27.5% of this market. 27.5% share of a market where VM have limited coverage is very strong so I don't think Sky actually are dominant. Eventually market forces will prevail and Sky will always need VM. There is no evidence of long term trends of Sky withholding anything from VM indefinately as it needs VM's custom.

I'm not sure what you meant by 'our interests' but that definately isn't the interest of VM customers in general as VM customers continue to receive additional channels within the current package prices. There are actually no trends to support your argument of VM customers leaving in significant numbers for Sky, which suggests that VM customers are satisfied. Plus it isn't really a saturated market. They could still both grow which means any anti competitive measures kills of choice for both of them and for the consumer.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

then why are sky withholding sky sports 3+4HD just to name 2 without all the rest they withholding

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The Sky Sports HD 1 and 2 only launch on Virgin Media due to ofcom telling BSkyB to offer Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to other Broadcasters.

But Sky1 HD and Sky Movies launch was only to Virgin Media selling their TV Channels to BSkyB.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I believe virgin should of included any new channels in their deal to sell their channels to sky,especially as the new channel is a relacement for the ones they(sky) bought,and I would of imagined the deal included virgin continueing to have Bravo 1,+1,Bravo2,+1,Virgin1,+1. Since sky have closed down the Bravo channels and are soon to close Virgin1 any replacement channels should of been included in the deal,which it clearly wasn`t. Sky have been very canny over this which I guess is why sky are much more succesful than virgin. As I`ve said before I don`t think virgin should of sold sky their channels but it`s done now. What virgin must do now is to build on their good relationship with ESPN because they`re a real rival to sky sports and come the next bidding for the football rights it`s my belief that ESPN will have as much if not more live premier league games than sky sports.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

They aren't actually withholding the content of SS3 and 4. They are just withholding access to the HD channel. In the long term I would have thought they wouldn't withhold HD as eventually it will just become the norm.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It's becoming more and more the norm now.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

The important issue here is access to content in the first place, not +1 and HD channels and a key goal VM have to keep their eye on; this is why Sky Atlantic is key as this is now a situation where Sky (presumably due to unreasonable demands on price) have locked VM out of new content e.g. fans of Mad Men will not be able to see the latest season 5.

If a deal is done such that Sky Atlantic appears on VM in at least SD form after the 3 month period free of all Sky subscribers ends, then I would be happy enough with that.

Sky will always have the advantage of having the most HD channels so if you want every option of access (HD, +1 Sky channels) you need to buy Sky as the only choice at the end of the day.

Some people have talked about an extra charge/selection above TV XL for the extras Sky has over VM. No chance of that ever coming as that would remove any access service competitive advantage over VM so the best VM can go for is making sure they provide VM subscribers with SD content at least.

If Tivo is meant to be this great all dancing access anywhere any time platform then fundamental access to content has to be a pre-requisite and that doesn’t mean access to content that was first shown a year before on Sky!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Why would a HD pack never happen , at least it would give you the option , granted it would be difficult with Virgin already stating HD is free with them.

---------- Post added at 14:35 ---------- Previous post was at 14:30 ----------

New BBC Iplayer plans
http://www.techradar.com/news/intern...nounced-923310

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Well it’s my view that an extra HD sky channel pack (nothing stopping VM signing deals with other providers though) will not happen because Sky will never want to offer it and as long as they offer SD content, I don’t think there are any rules forcing them to offer HD as well. The answer from Sky would be that TV viewers can get all HD channels by subscribing to Sky for TV.

I think we just have to pragmatic on how far VM can go and that is what is behind that article in the Telegraph. I would like to see everything in all formats (SD/HD/3D) via my VM subscription, I just simply think Sky wouldn’t want to offer this due to VMs competitive advantage on broadband and even Tivo; so they need to hold back their own premium viewing content to attract customers.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

To get best advantage from VM you really need their cable (fibre optic to the cabinet) service rather than their ADSL (copper wire to the home) service. Whilst some people cannot have a dish for Sky or FreeSat, most people can but the current VM cable coverage does not facilitate a reasonable level of direct choice between cable and satellite. To make a comparison between them or suggest a two-way deal with Sky just isn't realistic until VM have greater numbers of areas cabled up. That, I imagine, is a very long-term and expensive ambition for VM at the moment but one which I would fully support them diverting funds and effort to achieve.

Pass the cider! :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

As promised and requested,Here is the response for VM for the email i sent last nyt-


Absolutely not! We can't write the headlines I'm afraid. As you will see in the detail of the article it just mean we aren't going to own our own content. Our next generation TV (powered by TiVo) is the best TV in the market by a country mile.

Neil Berkett | Chief Executive Officer
Virgin Media

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

So in order to get the other Sky channels - Sky Hd channels - Sky Premium HD channels they would need to sell there fibre optic broadband to Sky :p:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for that. :angel:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

As long as VM can gain access to the latest content, then not bothered who is the actual owner and that will certainly be Sky in cases.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It's worth pointing out that very little content is produced by and for Sky.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

That is certainly true in some genres particularly UK drama, it's certainly not true in the most lucrative area of content of them all, sports. And of course news too. I know what you mean though.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

So does that mean if i have tivo i will be able to watch all the good looking hbo shows that will be on atlantic??? Its no good having the best technology if the best content and availability is somewhere else... Betamax v VHS, - HD-DVD v Blu-Ray...

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Yeah your right, always forget sport because I'm not really a "sports" person.
As for news I have another work for that, it starts with 'c' but doesn't end in 'ontent'. ;)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Thanks for this, Howardmicks :tu:

I know from a presentation I've seen today, that VM are very interested in TV. Things are going to get even better for customers. :)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Not the first time the headline hasn't actually matched the content. I learnt at a very young age not to trust anything written in newspapers. A friend was interviewed by the local rag and they put a sensational headline above the story that was nothing to do with anything he had said to them. He wished he had never spoken to them.

Anyway well done Howard getting that clarification.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Good to hear but what is it that will be even better for customers.

The only thing I can think of right now is the prices are going to fall cause they have risen alot.

I remember a few years ago when I first got ntl the XL pack which was family pack back then cost just £6.?? odd.

Those were the days now we need to rob a bank to get it.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

This has already been answered. Not currently, no.

---------- Post added at 17:59 ---------- Previous post was at 17:57 ----------

Can't say too much, yet. But prices won't be coming down, not if you want more content! lol

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Negotiations for content are going on all of the time, we can't know for what or how they are progressing until an official announcement is made and this can't happen until agreements have been reached and contracts are signed.

The effort and investment that VM has put in over the past year and more to roll out NGTV and Nagra 3, design, develop and launch TiVo and announce future proposals for IPTV suggests that they are very much interested in Digital TV and indeed see the ability to provide integrated TV, broadband, telephone and mobile services as placing them in a unique position in the market.

Didn't I say all that somewhere on here already in the past few days? :confused:

Virgin Mobile will need to have iPhone & iPad for the TiVo app. though.

An unbiased opinion from a non-employee of VM (although brown envelopes graciously accepted). :)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I hope they wont be going up

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

They will may have to if you want more content :)

We haven't been told of any price rises, though.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

As ever you get what you pay for DF, we can't moan if VM up their prices to reflect their costs for enhanced content.

Some people will probably still moan though!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

As has already been pointed out here in the TiVo thread, these are not quotes from Neil but mis-interpretations by the journalist. It's not a very well researched piece IMHO.

Neil sees VM's future as a supplier of fully integrated TV, broadband and other digital media. It's not just about faster broadband for web access but using that technology to deliver the other services, such as enhanced TV, as well as mobile broadband and mobile TV.

You don't have to want it all or have it all but the aim is to provide the mechanism to deliver it all via a common infrastructure.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I'm sure they will :D

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Im a loyal Virgin Media customer and has been since it was cable & Wireless. However today I had my first proper discussion about a possible move to Sky today with the family. We have'nt discussed this matter before.

I know with Sky there are call-out charges but that is the only thing keeping me with Virgin Media at the moment. And if there will be another price increase on virgin media since they are over £5 billion in debt i wont be best pleased and may consider a quicker switch than expected!

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I'm getting TIVO from launch and am looking forward to some new content as well. Hope TIVO doesn't launch region by region though.

---------- Post added at 19:41 ---------- Previous post was at 19:39 ----------

Prices always go up anyway , when did Sky or Virgin last drop TV prices.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Virgin usually increase there prices around April. Sky usually increase their prices around September. Sky will charge you more for HD.
Maybe freesat is your best option? :)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I really wish you hadn't done that, SquarePants. It was a Telegraph article! :o:

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Not a problem,I have found when emailing mr Berkett`s office in the past they are very quick to respond and only to happy to deal/hear from us customers.That as got to be praised and very different from another company which i wont mention but im sure you all know who i am talking about :D

---------- Post added at 20:30 ---------- Previous post was at 20:28 ----------

yer i know,got my papers mixed up.Soz for that folks

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Spiderplants link earlier stated VM hope to have 80 HD channels in two to three years so there will be more to come.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I would have to agree his office has always replied and been as helpful as they can.
I just wish we did not have to bother them with these questions, a simple update via a press release or email to customers would be helpful.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Name any non-Sky platform who have access to those channels.

Sky know that the content-gap between them and Virgin has closed up big time. Hence Sky exclusives like the remaining Sky Sports HD channels and Sky Atlantic. Even Sky have knowledged that Virgin's TV service has improved:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/3736...-tivo-you-suck

At least we get SS3, SS4 and SSN - BT Vision, Top-Up TV and YouView don't and won't.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Being completely unbiased I know of nothing to suggest Sky's equipment is any less (or more) reliable than VM's.

My Dad has Sky and has for many years and as far as I know he has never required a tech visit for the TV side, he has had a few problems with the phoneline but nothing out of the ordinary although they could have sorted things out faster.

On the other side of the coin I have never required a tech visit for a personal fault with VM in the 13 months I have been a customer either.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

My Samsung V+ has been pretty good overall.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Personally, I find that to be a gross exaggeration and a distortion of reality. Yes, quite often, in the past, people have posted their own opinions or postulated theories but phrased them as though they were fact or at least in a way that some others interpreted them as such. This hasn't been happening so much recently thankfully.

Those members who have offered genuine inside information have generally been reliable in what they post or cautious about how they post it. What others do with the information after that is usually where the problems arise! In the few cases where information has proved not to be accurate or the 'prediction' has materialised later than forecast, the difference in outcome or delivery time has usually been small.

Those are some of the very reasons one does care who provides their services be it gas, electricity, telephone, mobile, broadband or TV. So it's a little redundant to say I don't care who supplies my services as long as I have chosen the correct supplier for me.

I've seen that "I don't care who" statement several times before on here and I think it was from different people not just from you but, of course, you do care where you get your services from for the very reasons you have stated yourself and on which basis you choose from where you get them.

It's like saying "I don't care which brand of petrol I buy as long as it's the cheapest in my area, it doesn't cause my engine to knock, I get my loyalty card points and they stock my favourite pasty in the forecourt shop". Those criteria pretty much dictate exactly where you will purchase your fuel especially with the 'value added' pasty feature! (Let's refer to that as 'pasty-on-demand' shall we? :)) The petrol from different stations in an area generally comes from the same depot and is produced by one oil company but the additives that the tanker driver puts in when he fills up are where the difference usually shows.

I used to work in the BP building in Hemel Hempstead. You should have seen what my desk looked like when the Buncefield depot across the road when kaboom! :(

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

It seems to me that the majority of people were quite happy when VM added nearly 30HD channels recently...I really can't understand claims of VM's TV service is crap and that VM don't care about TV anymore.
It appears to me that this sudden displeasure has been mainly sparked off by Sky keeping Atlantic as an exclusive... initially!! Surely people don't change their TV suppliers on the strength of one channel? especially when VM will have that channel in a few months.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Would rather have Atlantic but can't say it would make me change , it will end up on VM at some point.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Agree,Communication to customers is defo my biggest gripe with them

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

I won't begin to pretend I understand what you are going on about but when I said I don't care who provides my services I mean there is no idealogical basis when I decide like with some people. VM, Sky or whoever are merely private businesses to me and nothing more. If the devil offered what I wanted at the right price i'd probably subscribe (ok that's going a bit far but you get the idea)

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

Personally, I'd only moan at an increase in price for extra content if it was content I didn't want, wasn't interested in and had no option but to pay for.

Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.
 

And you would have every right to, if that did happen it might be time to consider our options but let's wait and see. I should have really qualified what I said in that post.