Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

In the last year we have seen a total lack of investment on Virgins tv platform, first of all they sold their channels to Sky this deal just gets worse and worse with each passing day and we are still waiting for further Sky hd channels and the Sky red button, to be still waiting 7 months on is nothing short of staggering incompetence and shambolicness, this and a total reluctance to add other new channels suggest to me that Virgin does not give a damn about its tv customers.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

29 HD channels - fine
TiVo on the way - excellent
VHD boxes will slowly replace the standard STB - good thinking

Not to bad I would say!

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

It seems that all counts for nothing in some peoples books.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

A lot of the hd channels which are Sky owned were decided by ofcoms intervention and not by Virgin investing in their in their own tv platform and on Tivo we were supposed to get that in December and we are highly unlikely to get it before the second quarter and we have to pay a substantional amount to get it plus a monthly charge as well, l will never go to Sky but they have invested massively in content and channels and Virgin are selling theirs to the the enemy.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Virgin are still massively in debt and Sky aren't?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

That's great if you've got a HD TV and love high tech PVR's. 2010 delivered some massive HD channels, great for me as I'm HD daft! What about customers who only have a basic set-top box and only watch SD channels? There are still Virgin customers who aren't HD ready yet. These guys have lost out big time in the past 12 months, especially after the sale of VMTV. Virgin really need to be looking after their TV customers at both the high end and low end of the TV spectrum.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

You also have to look at the broadband side of things before saying virgin are not investing.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I am not talking about the broadband just the tv side and Virgin need to listen to their customers and be more pro-active then just standing still.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

If their customers are not happy, they can let VM know by the old method known as "Market Forces"......

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I have been a loyal customer for 10 years and as a forum member have a opinion just like any other member of the forum.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Absolutely

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

True, upload speeds are in the process of being increased, if they increase the download speeds to all of their customers say 20mbits to the lowest tier, you would have to be crazy not to chose VM!

In relation to TV services, yes you have to support SD customers but not at the loss of innovation though!

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

That is where Virgin have concentrated most of their investment, the tv has always been 2nd place, I said this a couple of years back that tv side has lacked investment, as for hd channels you can accept sky keeping theirs exclusive but as for itv 2, 3, and 4 hd launching then becoming exclusive to sky, you have to wonder what they are doing that stops Virgin customers getting a lookin from launch date as well as other channels not owned by sky. Surely channels need to be watched by as many viewers as possible so it doesn't make sense to release new channels and make them exclusive on one platform so why it is happening totally confuses me.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Don't forget that ITV get their money from advertising, as the ITV HD channels are simulcast and the SD versions are available on all digital sources then they are not losing anything financially by agreeing an exclusive deal with Sky.

In fact ITV are probably gaining a few quid by signing an exclusive deal with Sky anyway. Sky love saying they have x amount of HD channels more than the rest so they can get more HD customers.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Do you not think it at least possible that Sky is delaying the introduction of these facilities?

As for not investing in TV. Well, in the last couple of years, VM have totally rebuilt their backend infrastructure for TV. This has made little difference yet, but enables VM to offer a lot more channels in future.

This would have cost VM hundreds of millions of pounds.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

In fact ITV are probably gaining by their agreement with sky, as ITV 2,3 & 4 HD are subscription channels.

Thought ITV had signed a deal with VM. We'll have to wait and see what tier VM adds them to

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I will say i believe virgin have invested in the tv product no doubt about it,infrastruture more hd ect ect.

Where i have my difference is when vm sold their tv buisiness to sky the deal involved sky arts HD 1 and HD 2 no sign of either appearing some 6 months later.:confused: and for a cummunications company no word from vm to customers.

I understand sky sports red button is on its way hopefully. IF sky are holding any of these up they should not be as virgins side of the channels sale has been handed over to sky, lock stock and barrell,and they are now in the buisiness of closing some of the said channels.

For all their good work the thing that lets vm down is their communication with the people who pay the wages sadly.:(

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

We don't have Sky Sports Red Button or 3 HD channels that output about half a minute of HD a year so VM are negating TV? What a heap.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Who - payroll??? :D

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

What?

They have spent loads of money on unifying the network and clearing up the mess of having lots of legacy kit in jumbled network. They are doing things the correct way, they are getting their house in order first and making sure that the foundations they have are stable to build upon.

It may not mean much to the end customer but the network we have now means everyone is on a level playing field and all parts of the network can get the same services.

They have added a whole load of HD channels, there simply are not many SD channels launching now as SKY has closed the SD launch queue and unless a channel can launch on Sky it won't be able to launch anywhere else.

The Tivo investment would have been quite substantial especially with a bespoke box being made for it.

The sale of VMtv will be for the greater good, they have secured a longterm carriage deal with for the Sky Basics, have given customers access to Sky Movies HD and Sports HD and what might turn out to be a master stroke access to Sky VOD, that is really going to rock with the 7 look back function on Tivo.

All the money they have spent might not be obvious but the TV platform is now in a much better shape then it has ever been and hopefully they can build to deliver more content.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Lets look at this bit-by-bit.

Really? Ofcom have had very little to do with VM's HD channels. Some minor platform improvements has resulted in more HD, much of which has come about by Virgin upgrading their network to allow more channel bandwidth, turning off old analogue segments, and getting deals with other broadcasters such as Channel 4.

Ofcom have intervened in Sky's premium TV situation yes, but getting Sky 1 HD for example was through Virgin's deal with Sky over Virgin's selling them their Living TV franchise.

Virgin said it would start to launch in December 2010, they never said it would be available to everyone by then.

OK, depends what you call substantial, but from what I have seen, what VM are asking people to pay for the box, plus the monthly sub charge, it would appear that VM are subsidising this new package.

Sky the enemy? Hmmmm, I understand some people's gripe with the behemoth of a company they are, but Sky has always been about TV. You've got some Sky content thanks to VM selling off its TV channels.

You are entitled to your opinion, but I think a few here, including myself think your opinion is wrong.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Er yes as if unless that is the new name for customers.lol:D:D

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Ridiculous original post on this thread. I don't claim to have any insight into the amount of money VM invests in the difference services it provides, but it must be apparent to most that they've invested significant amounts in the TV side this year.
If the OP is talking specifically about channel content, then VM said some time back that they did not plan to compete with Sky in that game and was concentrating on sorting out the operational side of TV and class-leading broadband. This is a company supporting considerable debt that has to make investments where it can secure the best return. I think Berkett and co had a strong 2010 and this year looks just as good. Some folk seem to just want more and more and more, never appreciating what they have (best in class broadband and VoD for a start).

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

This thread is about lack of tv investment and has sod all to do with broadband. Vod is well over hyped. Lots of Gok Wan repeats and how clean is your attic nonsense

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

i thought i had seen this thread before http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/11...nvestment.html

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Like most, if not all people on here I have no idea how much money VM have invested in their TV offer recently, if ever.

But I think I am right in saying that VM's (unlike Sky's) core business isn't television, it is broadband and telecommunications so any investment in television surely must be balanced against any potential return.

I think the Tivo product indicates this, it isn't connected to a broadcaster like launching a whole load of channels would be so (I assume) will not drastically increase their payments to the likes of Sky or any other broadcaster for that matter. How much of a draw it will be remains to be seen, probably not as much as lots more channels but not as expensive either.

Maybe it's a way of differentiating it's offer without the burden of increasing their wholesale payments, but as like most people on here I don't really know.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

One company, one investment budget. If VM has elected to invest more in broadband then something has to give.

Incidentally, does anyone else find it odd that some of the folk complaining about Sky Atlantic not being on VM have been dismissive in the past of VM's VoD content, which featured the majority of that Sky Atlantic HBO archive drama and comedy in HD for years?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

But they only had a handfull of shows in the HBO hub and sometimes they just played the same season over and over. With Atlantic they will actually be showing new shows as well.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Depends on the size of your hands I guess. HBO series formerly on VM VoD (from memory):
Angels in America
Big Love
Carnivale
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Eastbound & Down
Entourage
Flight of the Conchords
Generation Kill
Hung
In Treatment
Sex in the City
Six Feet Under
Tell Me You Love Me
The Sopranos
The Wire
True Blood
When the Levee Breaks

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

VM VOD didn't contain all of SKY Atlantic's HBO content.

Far from it.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

poor wording on my part - now corrected

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Did it even have the majority of content?

Genuine question I don't really know for sure but it seemed pretty sparse, and static if I recall.

And wasn't some of it PPV too although I think that was mainly adult content.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

It was all there, free to VM TV XL customers, in HD where available, too. I think they only had the first season of Big Love, but the rest were shown as complete seasons from what I recall.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

There was definitely PPV stuff too, certainly adult stuff. Not porn, just typical HBO 'documentaries'

Was Mad Men on the iplayer or HBO TVC?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

All the stuff I listed here was not PPV but regular VoD.
Mad Men isn't HBO - it's AMC. It appeared on iPlayer after showing on BBC4/HD each week.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I didn't know that cheers.

Oddly HBO content was still available on BT Vision, at least it was recently. For how long though I don't know, in fact it might have been removed already.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

What does this mean?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

The amount of channels and content which is missing on Virgin TV is bad, if you look at Sky's channel line up compared to Virgin Media's it is not looking too good.

I will not leave Virgin Media because they've been good and remain good, it's just the lack of tv channels. There isn't any point in selling me Tivo if there is nothing worth watching!

There are also channels such as BET which are on freesat but not on Virgin TV, it's a free channel! What is a viacom playing at!

And then we have CBS reality,Horror and Extreme sports from Chello Zone but no CBS action or CBS drama and then you see something advertised that you want to watch and then when it mentions a channel you can't get you just feel like throwing darts at rupert murdoch!

And it's not just Virgin TV, it's all the TV platforms in the UK and ireland, there's bugger all on and i'm blaming everything on sky

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I do agree with you on more channels needed, but by the argument above, then you may as well get rid of VM altogether if you think there is nothing worth watching.

Actually, Tivo will help you with the current content by automatically finding shows you like without you having to serch them out. Whishlists have automatically recorded things I like, but would probably never have found without spending 10 hours a day going through the EPG or other similar programme listing :)

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Well said and I have to say on the lack of content who wants more talk shows/ shopping channel and what I did to make my parents hate me :erm:

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

No investment?? What about the £100m+ investment in migrating the 3 legacy headends to one super headend and migrating over to NAGRA3... that was no mean feat. What about the investment to upgrade the analogue areas of Bolton, Leicester, West London and Derry to all Digital. What about the 20+ HD channels that have appeared in the last 18 months. What about the vastly improved Cisco VHD box. What about TiVo. What about an affordable Tivo in the summer. What about Red Button launching as promised.

Do you think that someone thinks of a product and its delivered in a few weeks? Red button functionality, like TiVo is a massive technological change to the distribution network, Cable TV in its current form in the UK cant match the broadcasting bandwidth of satellite until further changes are made. The company certainly isn't doing nothing and I find it insulting that you suggest so. As a member of this forum then surely you must have seen the endless TiVo, HD, Nagra3 threads to be aware that changes are happening... and all happening to provide a stable and secure future for the company.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Calm down dear:D:D:D:D:D:D

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

The only complaint I have about VM is my bill each month.
Their HD content is plenty for me, broadband does all I need, and the Tivo is ace.
Compare things to five years ago and you must see that VM have invested heavily.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Don't be silly, everyone knows that Virgin don't care about their TV service.

And yes, that WAS sarcasm. ;)

I'm betting that Virgin will be upgrading to a 1Ghz network at some point then.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I can't get rid of it, i've moved into a flat in central london and I can't have sky because there are too many buildings in the way and I need permission, only people on the top floor can get it. The communal aerial doesn't seem to work, there is a Rediffusion sockets with a knob on which is defunct and so my best option would be Virgin's M or L package for now. I tried analogue by plugging the cable directly into the TV, that no longer works not even basic 5 channels.

So it's just unfair for those who can't actually get Sky!

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

You're punishing the customer for solving logistic problems that were not of their making and they have so far seen no improvement as a result of having been solved.

From a customers point of view:
Sky has every channel available
Virgin has quite a few crucial gaps

Sky are rolling out an On Demand service with considerable new content regularly
Virgin's offer seems, frankly, stagnant

You've absolutely no right to be congratulated for rolling out Digital services, this is way overdue.

Rollout of NAGRA3 has absolutely no benefit to the customer.
Merging the headends has absolutely no benefit to the customer.

The pace of change at VM is glacial. Nevermind TiVo (great for anybody who wants to pay for equipment they don't own), what about all the customers who are stuck with Scientific Atlanta V+ boxes which only get slower. When are they going to be upgraded? This year? Unlikely!

These are customers who have patiently waited for 4 years+ for software updates which have never come. Whenever I go home and have to face using my parent's V+ over my Sky+ it's a bloody nightmare - the EPG (running at a speed comparable to ONdigital in 1998) and recording capacity are beyond a joke.

The party line that the company isn't investing in linear channels like Sky Atlantic but is continuing to invest in VoD is frankly tosh - the VoD lineup has less that I want to watch everytime I confront it, and I'm not the fussiest of viewers.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Excellent post

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

In some areas including adding channels it is certainly very glacial.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

VM are IMO moving in the right direction but I agree in some areas at a slow pace. The reason being they are not bursting at the seems with cash. If they tried to do everything at once they would just go bust. If you look at what they have done since they became Virgin Media they have upgraded their whole network and now are bringing in a much needed improved software. At the end of the day though it is all down to money and it is impossible for them to move at the pace some would like or compete with Sky in the business of channel ownership because they just don't have Sky's cash.
BTW Your mention of anytime+ isn't the best one to make your argument. It has arrived years after cable had VOD, seven months after launch you still need to have Sky's own broadband and an HD box so only a minority of customers can use it. Also I think I am right in saying it has no HD and no catch up from the main channels. If that is the best a company can do who is bursting with funds then I think it gives some idea of why VM aren't moving as fast as some would like.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Sky Anytime+ does have HD albeit only for some movies, you are correct that it does not offer catch up from the networks.

It does however offer 500 movies and box sets from top US networks which Sky must think is more attractive than catch up services like the iplayer which are freely available on a plethora of platforms.

As ever it's upto the punter what they prefer.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

True.
True.
Not yet. However the roll out of Nagra3 should reduce the number of freeloaders on the system (which may mean more income for VM), and the merging of headends together with network upgrades will mean that VM have capacity for more channels (which was becoming an issue), which will enable them to add more. Ergo, the customer *will* benefit.
When do Sky upgrade your box for free? Oh, that's right. They don't, unless you threaten to leave..

VM do need to do major work on the VOD line up. However, it still beats Sky from what I have seen..

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Nagra 3 will also benefit BSkyB (I wouldn't be at all surprised if they had a hand in cable finally tightening up their encryption), as VM in the main just rediffuse other providers content it is arguable it was mostly them that were being ripped off.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Wow! Nice spin :rolleyes:

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Content providers have been losing millions over the years because of cable's inability to secure their network so thankfully that has ended now.

Carlos I have never come across anyone who rolls their eyes as much as you, then again I have never come across anyone like you full stop, thankfully!

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Well if people stop giving me reason to stop doing so, that'd be great :)

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Virgin have come a long way from the NTL-TELEWEST days but cannot stand still and put all its eggs in one basket with tivo, it needs to strengthen its VOD offering as it has become very stale in the last year and it also needs to add more HD and SD channels in the near future.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes probably a requirement from Sky , part of the deal to VM ending up with the Sky HD channels.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I always love a bit of wild speculation :D

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes you are a expert in a bit of wild speculation, only joking.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Should hope you are as that is something I never actually do :)

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

l can see the smirk on your face when you saying that.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes l am sorry and will take complete blame for not sticking to the topic.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

They do need to update VOD. While I like Series 2 of Doctor Who, we have had Series 3, 4 and 5 since then.. Wouldn't mind seeing some of them on VOD again, and it would be nice to see some of the other stuff change from time to time rather than just expire.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes l agree with you totally.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Me too. That said, NewWho does seem to be on permanent loop on Watch, so you could always record them of there ;)

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Brilliant point , while catchup is a nice facility , I never really used TV Choice much as the content was constantly the same.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

The lack of new TV channels is not good. TV customers have lost a lot of channels recently, granted mainly due to BSkyB rationalising the channels they bought from VM, but not all (MTV Classic being removed comes to mind) and there's no sign of any new channels appearing to replace them.

Yes HD channels have launched but we are paying more and more each month (my bill went up by more than 5% last month) for fewer and fewer channels.

I know people have made the point about Tivo but I've personally zero interest in Tivo and would never pay for it, either for the box or the monthly subscription charge and would only have it if I was basically forced to have it which may be the case down the line. What's far more important to me is a PDC*-type function for V+ recordings so that if there are late changes or programmes overrun then the V+ box will record all of the programme at the times the programme actually broadcast rather than the times originally stated on the EPG.

I have always seen VM as far better value than Sky due to ESPN and the HD channels both being available at no extra cost but it is now less good value than before due to the 5%+ increase with nothing extra for this £2 more per month.

* For those not in the know, PDC stands for Programme Delivery Control which was a function in the days of analogue broadcasting whereby a signal was sent to video recorders meaning that a PDC-enabled VCR recorded between the times that a programme was actually broadcast rather than the times advertised in listings magazines.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

What channels have we lost recently? MTV classic was closed by MTV themselves. Sky don't ave it either. So there doesn't need to be any replacements.

Bills go up, it doesn't mean you should be getting more though. i.e. your gas and electricity prices go up, do you call them and demand more because you have to pay more? thought not.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

And did bills rise (other than any standard price rises, I mean) when these channels were launched? No. Yet you want a reduction now they have gone? Is that fair?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I must be seeing things then as MTV Classic is on channel 355 on my Sky box now as I type.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

so you rather they never sold channels to sky and never ever got sky HD channels thats only way VM were ever going to get them not to mention red button too you complaining about lack of channel would had less if didnt sell VM channels

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

AS far as I am aware TiVo does not have or is likely to have a dynamic EPG, I think this a great shame as freeview PVR's have been offering this for a number of years.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Apart from SKY Alantic HD and HD variant channels History etc, what worthwhile channels are we missing on the VM platform?

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I guess it all depends what is worthwhile to the individual.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Mainstream programming eg new American series not on Alantic or VM. The only channel I can think of in any terms is Premier Sports!

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Indeed; and therein lies the problem. Any channels VM add will be welcome by some and derided by others. Unless they add them all, but that's probably not a realistic proposition.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV_Cla...UK_%26_Ireland)


In the UK, MTV Classic was previously available on Virgin Media but it was removed from that platform on 28 August 2010 along with MTV +1 and MTV Shows.


The channel is still available on UPC Ireland

http://www.upc.ie/television/digitalmaxplus/

And on Sky TV

http://www.sky.com/shop/tv/entertain...ks/music-pack/

And on TalkTalk TV.

So not only was MTV classic lost MTV Shows was also.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I presume when you say dynamic EPG you are referring to the EPG equivalent of PDC?

And if so, out of interest, I wonder if the Sky EPG is a dynamic EPG?

---------- Post added at 22:37 ---------- Previous post was at 22:33 ----------

MTV Shows has, I belive, subsequently been closed down by Viacom.

However, I never recall reading any reason as to why VM removed MTV Classic from their line-up.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes, sorry I did not make that clear.:D

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Yes you maybe right on that however MTV classic is still on Sky.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

i agree VM do need more channels !

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Plenty of channels are missing if you look at Media boy,s list of coming soon channels and on my bill everything seems to have gone up lately and if you compare like for like with lets say the supermarkets is that they are trying to get us in their stores by offering more and more offers and with Virgin lately it seem to be more and more price rises and nothing much coming the other way.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Comparing VM to a supermarket doesn't really work. It's more comparable to gas and electricity suppliers. Prices go up for the services they provide but it doesn't mean you will get more in return.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Why,s is this comparable to gas and electricity then, give me your wise intellectual answer please.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

How is it more comparable to Gas and Electricity Suppliers ?

Example If I get dual fuel from Scottish Power what's the difference from getting it from another supplier COST

This doesn't work in the world of TV though , Den has XL , Sky Movies and Sport , Premium HD and TIVO which by my estimates costs £64.00 for TV alone when comparing he is naturally going to compare to Sky who carry a lot wider channel range , so when prices go up he expects to see more , and rightly so.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Well its a utility type service provided to your home for starters.

---------- Post added at 09:24 ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 ----------

So naturally then if your gas and electricity go up in price do you expect to get more energy? No its the same with Phone and TV services. Prices may rise each year but that doesn't mean you should get or expect to get anything extra.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

No I would switch supplier :D

Prices will always rise in TV services , however the customer is right to expect more.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

VM tv isn't a product designed for people who can't get Sky.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Why is the customer right to expect more if the price rises?

Would you expect a bigger Mars Bars if the price went up?

Would you expect more gas, when the price rises?

Prices on things always rise. Ususally because the cost of supplying it rises.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Clearly Stephen in a competitive market people expect more when prices increase , hence why VM promote what things are being added to the service following the price rise.

http://www.virginmediapeople.com/pri...default.aspx#1

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

It can be argued that telephone services are simialr to a utility but pay TV most definately is not.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

It's not that we expect more for the same, but we don't expect less for more. I think the TV services has reduced in quality and value! So increases for less, that's what irritates me.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

hmmm. nobody complained when all those HD channels were added without a price increase :erm:

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

A poor answer to my question me thinks.

---------- Post added at 14:44 ---------- Previous post was at 14:42 ----------

well done MM for seeing the point which l am making.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Across the board we have had more than enough price increases with Virgin and then l get tivo and lose most of my loyalty discount as well so l have been hit with a triple whammy rise in my bills and apart from the mighty tivo box every other part of my bill has risen more than it used to.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Love the way you always include the VAT and Sky package price increases in your moans, when both of those were beyond VM's control...

btw, you didn't appear to address DF's point about no extra charge for th extra HD channels....;)

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

Some of these channels you can get for nothing on freeview and freesat and if you remember we are paying 7.00 pounds for Skys HD Premium channels and have 25 less channels than Sky who charge a tenner for 50 plus HD channels plus we are paying a 3.00 tivo monthly fee as well.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

So On Sky you would be paying a lot more then :D

25 less HD channels. Just over a year ago VM only had 1 or 2 HD channels so we have actually come a long way in that time!

You aren't made to pay the £7 if you don't want to and also VM don't actually have a charge for HD channels. Same with TiVo you don't have to pay that if you don't want TiVo.

Re: Virgin Media lack of tv investment
 

I think we all have differeing views as to the value of VM compared to Sky. If I had the same content with Sky then I'd be paying £20 per month more - £9 for ESPN and £10+ for HD. Therefore, VM on XL is good value when you compare like-for-like but not as good value as it was before as the last six months have seen two price increases (yes one was the VAT increase and out of VM's hands) but a reduction in the number of channels available.

The issue here is that VM upped the price by £2 per month in April but VM has made no effort to replace the channels lost. In other words, we are paying more but getting less. All it seems to be in 2011 is Tivo, and nothing else when it comes to TV and eventually people are going to downgrade of even cancel VM if VM continues to increase prices whilst offering fewer channels.