Why don't we have.....
 

I thought it would be a good idea to open a new thread on what readers might think we should have on cable to really bring in the punters for VM.

My wish list is:

- A review of the channels we don't get, which actually appear to be of a reasonable quality, such as CBS Drama.

- Much better VOD content. When you look at what you can buy in terms of box sets, I would have thought that we could have had a much better choice on the XL package. Don't mind if some of them are PPV, but they should ensure that viewing by VOD would be cheaper than actually buying the box sets from the shops (you are, after all, only renting for a specific time period).

- VM should do a deal with a good supplier (eg Lovefilm) to provide us with video streamed films and programmes. This could be provided to VM viewers via TIVO by way of subscriptions or PPV.

When you look at whether to go for satellite or cable, content is everything. Virgin Media should excel in this area - there is no excuse not to.

This would then silence those who keep asking for more channels and comparing unfavourably with Sky.

It all seems so easy. Why do VM not do this?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

i agree a good free movie channel would be great

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Er - I don't think it would be free! If you want decent films (rather than films that are quite a few years old, such as Movies 24 and True Movies), you will need to pay for them. There are three main scenarios:

- Subscription for the facility
- Pay per view
- A mix of both (eg subscription for a defined limit, thereafter PPV).

The thing I am most annoyed about is that we don't have the choice, but we could be given that choice. And Virgin Media would benefit from additional income. It is so simple, I can't understand why we are not getting this. What did they say a few years ago on their own advert - I want it all? Sad to say, we are not getting it!

I really want Virgin Media to succeed, but when I see the potential and what we are actually getting, it makes me very cross!

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

No i mean free ,like on sky ,we already have a ppv movie channel on virgin

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Because they do not want to spend the money.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I wanted forced adverts on VOD so VM can afford like 10 times as much VOD content including boxed sets & free movies on demand

with an option to pay monthly sub for ad-free viewing - just like lot new software nowadays

mentioned this loads times but goes down like lead balloon

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Not sure what you mean, martyh. The only 'free' channels on Sky are part of a package that you actually pay for. The other films can be seen through specific subscription (Sky Movies) or pay per view (Sky Box Office). The channels that are part of a general entertainment package show mainly older films and I was not referring to these.

I would like to access new films as soon as they were available on a subscription/PPV option and also have access to good quality new programmes via VOD or video streaming on TV (ie TIVO).

That is my idea of heaven! The cancellation of my subscriptiion to Sky Movies, which is very poor value for money, would pay for it.

---------- Post added at 18:16 ---------- Previous post was at 18:14 ----------

Surely, the increased subscriptions would pay for it! I would willingly switch my subscription from Sky Movies to pay for this!

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

This is a bit wrong as VM are a company that is just turning around from debt in to profit. So if they were to spend X amount of money where would it come from:confused:

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Part of Virgins tv model is too inflexible though.

---------- Post added at 18:19 ---------- Previous post was at 18:18 ----------

True they are 5.8 billion still in debt.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Subscriptions and PPV = PROFIT. Sounds fairly straight forward to me. Am I missing something...?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

There are 12 movie channels i think which you can have as part of a package ,they aren't worth buying seperate ,too expensive ,but if VM had their own movie channels that weren't ppv then that would be good

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

advertising on VOD

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Which part is this? As all the parts that I have seen have been quite flexible :confused:

Very true but as I said that they are turning it in to profit to try and eradicate the debt, But this will take a while. So it is either jump ship or stay with them for the long haul:confused:

---------- Post added at 18:25 ---------- Previous post was at 18:25 ----------

Very true and 100% agree:D

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I would assume that they're reviewing their channels on an on-going basis. Why wouldn't they? And haven't they said as much already.

If you like. I'm not personally interested in anything PPV and I only have enough time to watch what I record never mind find something OD.

I agree with the idea though.

And they have said that they're looking into this too already.

I wonder why? Actually, I don't at all. :rolleyes:

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

l will never go to Sky its as simple as that.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

and this is an issue why ?

Every company (and individual) is entitled to decide what they do or dont spend their money on.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Is 'looking into' less timely than 'coming soon'?

---------- Post added at 18:34 ---------- Previous post was at 18:33 ----------

True, but we are talking about increasing profits for VM. We are not expecting it to be free. We just want the choice. Why is this such a difficult concept?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

We do not expect it to be free but being more flexible and listening to what customers want would be a start.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Actually, JethroUK does have a point. But VM has to be sensitive as to where it puts those ads. An advert in front of each 3 minute music video is a bit disingenuous, don't you think?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

They don't have the money that Sky has to spend on getting first dibs on new films..:rolleyes:

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Which is why VM have to charge for it. We just want the choice.

If Sky's exclusive rights are getting in the way, maybe we need the Culture Secretary to look into it. Or maybe we can get around the exclusive rights through video streaming from the internet.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Hopefully this should be sorted when the Competition Commission have finished looking at it

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes Sky still seem to have too much power in my mind and it certainly needs looking at but the current government will not do anything as they like to hold hands with Murdoch.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

:rofl:

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Squeeze me:D

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Lets hope so.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

i dont see a problem with advertising just the way it works on std commercial TV - every few minutes or so - in the case of music videos spotify play one advert every 3 or 4 tracks (every 15-20 minutes basically)

I also think that if the ads could not be skipped (like ITV player) then the advertising space would attract a massive premium

and if VM build in the option to pay monthly fee for totally ad free viewing they will be quids in and we would have 10 times the amount of VOD we currently have and a totally free access to movies on demend

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Firstly, I got my Tivo so I could skip any ads, so why on earth would I want to use a service, even for free, that had un-skipable ads?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Delay TV?



OK i now think that it is time to calm down and to also think that people disagree. So now can we all just get a grip and behave:D

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

In order to view content that otherwise would not be available, of course.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

We are currently discussing OnDemand, not Tivo functionality. :)

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I like the way they arrange the packages .. better than Virgins way of doing it.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes calm down and lets have opinions and views and no insults.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

OK thanks for the clarification :) I thought that I was going a bit off :(

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

To be fair, this thread is about cable TV generally, not just video on demand.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

As you all know I'm a Sky customer however I have a VM TV box as well , I think VM could strengthen their content offering with some quality apps on TIVO.

Example Live 365 Internet radio would be great for thousands of worldwide radio content
Lovefilm - some sort of sub deal for VM customers ( this will be a tough one to thrash out )
MLBTV Added sports content.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes l agree with you.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Lovefilm is the real killer application, I think, given the right deal for subscribers. It's all about content, not channels!

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

l think its about both.:erm:

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I agree , the only problems I can see are VM striking a deal beneficial to both parties and the ruling from the Competition commission will be an interesting one as this could affect Lovefilms future plans.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I respect that opinion, as it is expressed by quite a few who post on these matters, but I don't really understand it, I confess. As long as I have the content, I don't care whether I am watching a channel, VOD, or (in the future) streaming content from the internet via my TIVO box (when I get it).

This all assumes, of course, that the system is working correctly, that we don't keep losing episodes and we don't have programmes from series pulled before we have seen them.

Why do you think that viewing by channels is important? I really want to know why this view is knocking about so widely.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

And the past few pages sum up VM's challenge - so many people want so many different things, so whatever they do, it won't be right (IMHO).

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Because linear channels are still very important nowadays to the vast majority of viewers and they are still willing to pay for them now and in future.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I believe in the US Netflix have agreed rights to stream shows

Read it Devil , see how much their paying per show ;-)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_845371.html

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

l am afraid us Virgin customers are a very demanding lot as l am sure you have noticed.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I know, denphone, and I don't disagree with you. I was asking why.

I would rather pay for the programmes I actually want to see rather than pay for whole packages of channels that I select the odd programme from (like Sky 1) or that I can't even get (like Sky Atlantic).

This obsession with channels and channel numbers - I just don't get it.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

As someone said Virgin need to please everybody and thats hard sometimes as l like a bit of everything and l agree with some of what you are saying as well.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Virgin Media need to sell VOD better and to manage it better as well.

If you consider how many times you watch a film on Sky Movies, and then work out what that film cost you in terms of your subscription, we are being fleeced alive!

I sometimes go for a whole month before watching one of the films on Sky Movies because they keep repeating films already shown and there is nothing new that is of any interest for week after week.

This is why I am on a bit of a crusade here!

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes l agree with you on both fronts as Sky constantly repeats these films all the time and on the video on demand front l think Virgin needs to polish up his act as others are closing the gap quickly.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

This is my take on Sky Movies

If your a Sky Sports subscriber it's about 7.50 more so not bad value , however if you take only Sky movies It's a whopping 21.50 on VM which is a complete rip off and the prices are pretty much the same on Sky.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Why on earth would VM allow Lovefilm when we already have FilmFlex ?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

And yet after the Ofcom inquiry prices were supposed to come down well they have gone the other way and that is up and they will go up again in a few months.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I partly agree , and here lies the problem.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Why not? They've added Picturebox. The more choice the better.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

And on that we agree.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Think the ideal for customers of Sky and Virgin would be if you could just pick the channels you wanted. The packs idea obviously benefits the provider way more than the customer. Virgins in particular is way to ridgid

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes they need more flexibility in their packages.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Lovefilms offering would improve vastly if they could stream films , the likes of which are on sky movies now. This will all be dependant on the competition commissions ruling.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

They can stream films, and their library will increase rapidly in the near future. Eventually there will be more on there than Filmflex can offer, and they will have TV programmes too.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

They can stream films but the range is diabolical at the moment , they can't get many others as BSKYB have exclusive deals hence the investigation.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

It would be great if Virgin could negotiate a deal where any movie broadcast on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Film 4 is offered for 7 days on a catch up basis. So for example today on terrestrial TV we have the following movies which we could access for 7 days via catch up:

Taffin - BBC1
Back to The Future III - ITV
Orphan - Channel 4
Vinyan - Channel 4
Wyoming Renegades - Channel 5
The Ride to Hangman's Tree - Channel 5
Last of the Dogmen - Channel 5
Fun with Dick and Jane - Channel 5
Miss Congeniality - Channel 5
Proof of Life - Channel 5
Nine Months - E4
High School Musical 3: Senior Year - 5*
The China Syndrome - 5USA
Baby Mama - ITV2
Tin Cup - ITV3
Inside I'm Dancing - ITV3
Scary Movie - Film4
Springfield Rifle - Film4
Sister Act - Film4
Girls! Girls! Girls! - Film4
The Duellists - Film4
The Italian Job - Film4
Alfie - Film4
Candy - Film4

Over the space of 7 days you'd quickly build up a library of over 100 films that you could watch for free even on M, M+ and L packages. It would be a better service than Picturebox and a very basic version of SKY's Anytime+ Movie service. Whilst the films on offer wouldn't be anywhere near as good as SKY's offering, at least you wouldn't have to subscribe to any movie channel to enjoy Virgins offering.

To pay for this service non skipable adverts could be included at the start of the movie, during the movie and at the end. The movies from BBC should be included for free as part of iplayer.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes agree with that , however it all comes down to rights again , aside from Sky the movie companies are extremely greedy.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Good point Muppetman. You know what if this service could be added for say an extra £2.00 per month, with the money going to satisfy the rights holders, I'd actually be interested.

I suppose if you had TIVO with it's 500 hour capacity, the box would quickly learn what type of movies you enjoyed and would record what it thinks you'd like. If you subscribe to SKY Movies, I'm sure TIVO could easily record 100 movies + per week from all channels across the board.

At the risk of going off topic, can any TIVO users confirm if their box suggests and records a lot of movies for them?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Who said it was difficult - the only concept people seem to find difficult is VM make their own decisions on what they will or wont do.

---------- Post added at 22:17 ---------- Previous post was at 22:15 ----------

I dont recall putting you in charge of whats discussed in this thread.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

The price for just the Movies channels is exactly the same; but to add the Sky Sports Pack is and extra £11.50. So which is the "rip-off" again? :confused:

---------- Post added at 22:22 ---------- Previous post was at 22:17 ----------

Unfortunately this will never happen. Sky's way of packaging channels is possibly better than VM, but then it's nice to have all the channels available should I ever want to watch any one of them at some point.

---------- Post added at 22:23 ---------- Previous post was at 22:22 ----------

Or you could just record them? :confused:

---------- Post added at 22:24 ---------- Previous post was at 22:23 ----------

I wasn't assuming any such role :confused: :rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 22:25 ---------- Previous post was at 22:24 ----------

I don't seem to recall any movies being suggested for me, but then I don't record that many and haven't given many the thumbs-up.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Its not that straight forward. Many of the movies on TV are bought with the rites to be broadcast on the main channel and do not include any extra showings or rites to be shown on Catch Up TV or VOD. Its a very complicated subject.

Recently Star wars was on ITV but it was not on ITV +1 for that very reason.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Carl this is what I mean

I'm a sports fan so I will always sub to Sky Sports which on VM would cost me 22.50 to add movies it would cost 29.50 so 7.00 more which seems acceptable to me.

Someone into Movies alone has to pay 21.50 which compared to Lovefilms unlimited one disc at a time at a cost of 9.99 is expensive.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

That is, of course, assuming the extra money they bring in covers the extra cost of the content.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

You've got the biggest on demand library of any TV provider in the UK and your wanting more on demand?

BT have ABC on Demand and Sky have on demand posing as the "self proclaimed" worlds greatest TV channel. We have BBC/ITV/4/5 catchup TV that Sky don't have and BT have BBC that you pay for/ITV/4 . There is very little else Virgin can add on demand and I already made the large list of channels in comparison to Sky in the ITV 2 HD thread.

If your unhappy with your TV service move. The number of people unhappy with Virgin TV vastly outweights the number of people unhappy with ADSL broadband. If you've got the money to afford VM Internet/Sky TV do it if there is that many problems with Virgin TV.

EDIT: Oh yeah and films. They have to run 60 channels and you still can't watch what when you want (and pretty much never if you want it in HD), we have films on tap. If you want LoveFilm, get LoveFilm. And we have Film4 HD, the best free film channel in the UK (I presume that is the general opinion) exclusively on VM.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

The content on VM TV Choice OD doesn't get updated anywhere nearly frequent enough , there's content still on from TW days.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

So 2007 and prior shows shouldn't be (put) on? I've always wanted to start watching House from the second half of Season 4.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

That's fine but some new content wouldn't go a miss , I think your avatar says it all really , maybe you should try another companies service before slating them all. BT Vision only has ABC On Demand there seemed a lot more on it when I had it.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

There are more people unhappy with their VM TV serice than with their ADSL broadband service? How is that relevant? It's also meaninless without actual figures or context.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

VM focus on Broadband.
Sky focus on TV.

Quite relevant.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I agree can't really see the point in the post , this wasn't really a thread moaning about VM , more what services people would like to see so how does ADSL BB get brought into it. Every forum member on here knows VM cable BB network is superior to the old copper network.

I also doubt there are more people unhappy with their VM TV service than there are with their ADSL service after all I would guess there are a lot more than 4 million ADSL lines out there.
Talk Talk alone has 4.1 million subscribers.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Good idea.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Well perhaps you could have explained it better. Also, do you have any official figures to backup that statement? Personally, I disagree.

I do know that VM is officially the least-officially-complained-about telecoms provider. I also know that most ADSL customers are getting less than 50% of their headline speed.

So I really can't see you being in any way correct.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Understanding is a two-way process.

For instance, you are asking muppetman11 to substantiate something on which he agrees with you - that he doubts that more people are unhappy with VM TV than are with ADSL BB. ;)

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I re-edited my post when I realised there was a post after the one I quoted :D

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Well, plainly it isn't difficult, but you would think so with the lack of progress wouldn't you? While Virgin Media may make their own decisions on what and what not to do, it seems to be the 'what not to do' that wins out all the time, and the point I'm making is that unless better progress is made to keep up, VM will ultimately lose out to their competitors. Personally, I don't want to see that happen.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

l will always support Virgin but l will also have my opinions about them whether good or bad.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I disagree, you see I think that thinking in terms of channels is too rigid. Think programmes. Just buy what you want. Result = good quality viewing without all the rubbish at a fair price.

I don't want to pay for Sky One when I'm only watching 'Fringe' on that channel. I just want to pay for 'Fringe'. So if we had a large selection of programmes and films to choose from, for a set fee, I would rather pay for my stuff that way. Then I would have the Freeview channels on top of that, so I could still see 'The Event', 'Brothers and Sisters' and the like on More 4 and the other free channels, and supplement it with what I really wanted to see.

Look at Sky's 500 odd channels on its satellite system. Most of them are rubbish (or are of no interest to most). Why pay for them?

Sky Movies is particularly poor value because they keep showing the same films over and over and not enough new ones are being added.

---------- Post added at 18:41 ---------- Previous post was at 18:38 ----------

Which is why I'm suggesting that VM do a deal with Lovefilm to enable us to have a given number of hours per week at a fixed subscription cost. Anything over and above that would have to be paid for, but perhaps at a discounted rate if VM could negotiate that.

---------- Post added at 18:47 ---------- Previous post was at 18:41 ----------

Yes, the biggest on demand library maybe, but it could be so much better, and also better managed!

I'm not unhappy with the TV service as you suggest, I just think it could be improved and VM need to stay ahead of the game in this area.

It's no good pointing to 60 channels if there is nothing on that you haven't already watched or nothing that appeals to you. Sky has so many, but not much on that I fancy watching.

VM could get a good deal for us with Lovefilm or another provider and this is what I am after.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

it would be great if we could do a deal with Lovefilm and if the subscription fee was reasonable l would subscribe to it.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

As would many, if you read my post on the threat of streaming thread it would also appear that Netflix could soon arrive in the UK.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

From what l read they have just signed a big deal with someone in America.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes, that's clearly the way to go! And if we can overcome the exclusivity clauses that Sky keeps invoking, we can see the programmes that are on Sky Atlantic that they won't let us have at a reasonable price!

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes its those buggers Sky again and their greediness.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

..And that greed will be their downfall because a way will be found around them and they will then lose out on that income. Short term gain, long term pain.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes l believe in the medium to long term Sky,s business model will increasingly come under pressure from other companies.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I am like you I want to see better choice for the customer but in realistic terms I can't see BSKYB ever in a position were they lose millions and millions of customers they have shown over the years how adept they are at changing with the times.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Their are increasingly huge worldwide media companies out there who have the firepower to take on Sky and beat them.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Totally agree.

News International for one!:D

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Agree, also how many pages back can coming soon to virgin thread go before it falls off the Internet?

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Yes third biggest media corporation after Disney and Time Warner , just so happens there buying BSKYB :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_Corporation

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

Are you not forgetting powerful companies like Google and Facebook along with others as well.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

This may be a far out concept, and will no doubt have legal implications, however I'll post it anyway.

Seeing Virgin would like us all to be in Tivo at some point in the future, it would be good if an app was created allowing customers to access each others recordings via an invite. For example, I recorded the boxing at the weekend but my Dad missed it. SKY are not repeating the action again. So my Dad doesn't miss out, I can invite him Tivo to Tivo to watch the action directly from my box. It'll only work if you have similar packages. Someone on M+ couldn't watch something a customer on XL has recorded from say National Geographic. Alternatively as Tivo has a dedicated internet connection, you can send another customer a copy of your recording from your Tivo box directly to theirs.

Again legally this probably would never get off the ground, I just think it would be something entirely different that no other service provides. I'm not too sure if there is an appetite for this type of app however I'd certainly use it.

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

That's a very interesting idea, Chad. But, as you say, a potential legal nightmare :)

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

that would be great, but, like you say, legally it prolly wont have a snowballs chance

Re: Why don't we have.....
 

I think sling have all the patents on this tied up. Maybe it could be licensed from them and incorporated into the VM TiVo box.

http://uk.slingbox.com/go/slingbox

Regards

John.