Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Who knows but it seems strange that when SKY signed the contract with HBO the contract ended with VM?

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Of course Sky use their movies OD content as you well know as I do and it is nonsense for anyone to suggest otherwise. I am glad the HBO issue was raised, I didn't dare to but I thought it was a load of nonsense that people said HBO content was removed from VM because of Sky Atlantic launching as I knew it wasn't getting removed form BT Vision, their HBO content is getting better if anything.

Sounds good though dosen't it, another good guy, bad guy issue. Maybe some HBO content wil return to VM with Sky's VOD content, you never know.

Nevertheless I welcome any investigation into Sky's pricing, they do charge a bit too much for movies in my opinion.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Nothing to do with it.


VM had a deal for VOD with HBO which came to an end.


VM had already shown all the top HBO content from VOD and decided not to renew.


Maybe they spent the money getting the US boxsets instead.


If Virgin want to they can sign another deal with HBO as Sky only have exclusive access to new HBO shows and not VOD.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Thank you and glad for the clarification about this.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Fraid not, Sky have a deal for HBO VOD for themselves only.

The deal they did with Virgin is for Sky content made by Sky plus other stuff Virgin already had being available but maybe not supplied like the Living content.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

That's much as I thought but there were a fair few people assuming it was down to Sky which of course it couldn't have been.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

The deal in its simplest terms was as follows.


£150 Million (reportedly) 5 years deal

All new commissioned shows and series will be broadcast first on Sky channels in high definition

access to HBO's archive for VOD use



Thats it.............

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Your first point - off course Sky will price out other providers that don't have enough subs to cover the costs. I don't get how it would be in anyones interest if a company that doesn't have enough subs takes on the rights. Then the company (Sky in this case) that does have the subscribers loses out.

So basically what is it that I don't get? That Sky is bad by default? Or that your argument actually implies that anyone but Sky would be better off with the rights even though it is Sky that has the viewers to consume these movies? So basically Sky, who caters to the most pay tv consumers in this country, isn't the best place for these rights?

As for your second point - Sky offer VOD for movies.

As for your third point - they have VOD rights and provide VOD to their customers. Their subscribers enjoy the service. Can't see how that could be bad.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

But you are missing the point that Ofcom are making - they tie up VOD rights for Movies from the six major studios, and then do not release them on the VOD platform (only a percentage of them).

They do this to be, in Ofcom's view, anti-competitive - they buy up the rights not to show the films on VOD, but to stop others doing so.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

I do understand that point. I made the point in an earlier post that VOD viewing is likely to become more mainstream with a number of big organisations wishing to make the move into VOD for these movies.

As it becomes more mainstream the VOD rights become more lucrative and Sky have more competition. So either Sky make some money from this or they get beaten to the rights by someone who can make money from them.

But either way competitive forces eventually prevail. Thats how the market should work and not through meddling by Ofcom.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

Except that Sky have it tied up for years yet and always negotiate on the basis of linear and VOD as a package.

Unless there is intervention forcing the freeing up of VOD so internet streaming is opened up no-one will get a look in unless they spend mega bucks.

Going mainstream requires intervention or it just won't happen as the movie studios are happy with things the way they are in this country with the money they are getting from Sky.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

All there new movies are put on anytime , they were always waiting for me on Friday morning.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

If you believe there is a proper market in pay tv in the uk in the first place,i for instance cannot get sky,thousands csannot get VM possibly millions,BT vision will not work where i live as ADSL only delivers a max of 2MB,some might call ofcom a meddler but to me ofcom are trying to even the situation out to try and benefit the person whose often least thought about whilst sky et al slog it out,yes thats right the consumer what a novel thought.:)

The "market" such as it is cannot work when you have one ultra dominent player with the financial clout to overpay or at least outbid most others due to its sheer financial clout as is the case here.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

That service was shut down and all customers moved to ntl - the configurations which allowed it, VPDN / LAC, were removed from the CMTS.

Are you sure about this?

---------- Post added at 21:50 ---------- Previous post was at 21:45 ----------

I'm looking forward to seeing Ofcom's response to my MP.

They have been firmly up cable's backside since their conception having been headed up by someone who recently departed from a cable company. It will be interesting to see how they equate KT having SMP within Hull only with assessing VM's market share nationwide rather than in their passed areas thus allowing them to pretend they don't have SMP.

Re: sky movies (excess profits)
 

But there are over 500 movie titles available on Sky Anytime+ right now, I don't suppose they can provide access to every single movie they hold the rights to at any one time.

Filmflex only has around 500 titles available at any one time dosen't it?, I guess the big difference is Sky provide hundred's as part of your subscription but it isn't a PPV service.

Take a look, I'd say there are quite a few on offer:-

http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/anytime-p...l-movies-list/