No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

...according to boss of Sky Entertainment channels.

https://twitter.com/stuartmurphy100/...50857412112384

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

To be perfectly honest many have found other ways to view some of SA's content now.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Spot on Den. And I'm sure this has been said before, but those who really wanted it would have gone over to Sky by now.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

IF i wanted to i could watch the latest game of thrones in HD 30 minutes after it is shown and i dont have sky ;)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I had the same coversation with CS. She told me that Sky were asking for £18 per customer for SA. The new owners said there's no way they will pay that and cut off talks. As a work around I've bought the Now Tv box. It's only £4.99pm for the Entertainment pack, has no contract, playable on 4 devices, and you can get a fair bit content.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Whatever she told you bud one suspects her nose grew longer then Pinocchio afterwards.:nono:

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

But, but, but.......

I thought it was all about VM being to cheap to bid the right money for the channel...........

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Aye spot on.

Gotta love how the sky bloke worded it "long, long time..." to send a message to everyone on twitter to basically come to sky. Look sky its exclusive we get it. I haven't joined sky in the past 2 years because of atlantic. I won't join sky purely for atlantic. It can be a "long, long time" all you want but i still wont join.

Really bloody stubborn lot.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Eventually all the shows on Sky channels will be shown elsewhere..I can wait..;)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Doesn't seem much point getting it now with all the shows in season 3/4.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I agree the Now Tv box (when it doesn't crash!) is an option for Atlantic...

thirty quid for a box and six months seemed a good deal to me....

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

That's the route I've taken. I've had a few issues watching films when big games are on Sky Sports and the first episode of Game of Thrones didn't go smoothly but we tend to watch the latter on a Tuesday night with no problems and not had any problems with films for a while. I paid around £24 for the box and 3 months of the entertainment pack (which has had a month added on due to the above issues)

I'll be cancelling the now TV entertainment pack when Game of Thrones finishes, not because of the level of service but more because there's nothing else that I fancy watching.

Yes it would be more convenient to have Atlantic on VM but NowTV is a more than acceptable compromise in my view.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I think now that I would be happy to have programmes for Sky Atlantic on demand/streamed. We have already missed countless series of Games of Thrones and Mad Men to name but two, and so the value in getting SA as a linear channel has faded for me.

---------- Post added at 12:58 ---------- Previous post was at 12:56 ----------

It's pretty extortionate if you are just getting it for SA when the channel is in Sky Basics on Sky. I'm not paying for it.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

When you cannot get Sky a working piece of kit and six months including streaming for 30 quid is a good deal.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I looked at what they are showing on Sky Atlantic, and none of it interested me at all.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Sky Atlantic is the channel I would really like, but it's not enough on it's own to make me leave Virgin for Sky, plus the fact that Virgin have much better broadband.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Sums up my feelings in a nutshell.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

As Chad said last night in that apart from Sky Atlantic there is no difference in the TV side now and add to that Virgin's better broadband and with also Netflix available to those who want to subscribe and then there is the BT Sports package on the XL pack which makes it the better all round package in my humble opinion.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

absolutely makes VM even more better value that sky :clap::clap::clap:

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

The only thing I've watched on Atlantic since I've had Now TV has been True Detective. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Could I live without it? Yes.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I'd agree with everyone else on here that Sky Atlantic is definitely overrated.

Just before Xmas I looked into getting an additional V HD box for my bedroom thinking it would be an extra £6.50 per month but due to Virgin's strange bundle structure they said I would have had to upgrade from Essential Family Collection to Premiere Collection at a cost of an extra £13.00 per month to have an additional STB.

At the time I'd recently bought a Now TV box for £10 as I had a Groupon offer for the movies and instead of the extra Virgin STB decided to take out the Now TV Entertainment pack and put the Now TV box in the bedroom (which has saved a little money, so thanks VM!).

Since then I've hardly watched anything on Atlantic as like most people have said, there are a few great shows on there (GoT being my personal fave) but also an awful lot of 'filler' content. I've actually found it more useful to be able to watch a lot of catch up stuff from Sky 1, Sky Living and Fox as well as having access to the Sky basic channels on my tablet.

So despite me previously thinking I'd desperately want Atlantic to come to VM, now I've had access for a few months I can honestly say I'm no longer that fussed. Don't get me wrong, it'd still be great to have it on VM so that we all have access but if Sky were demanding silly money for it, I think VM were correct in their decision to play hardball rather than paying over the odds and having to pass that cost on to us.

Just my thoughts but I think it's like a lot of things that when you don't have them, you really want them. Once you've got them, they just become 'normal' and the excitement dwindles.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Spot on super blade I know I'm exactly like that! Wanting what I can't get!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

That's marketing in a nutshell. Make you think you can't live without it so that you buy it, then keep it because it becomes a normal part of your life, even though it turned out not to be so exciting after all.

Some years ago, I sat down and worked out what I was paying per Sky show that I actually watched, and the cost was ridiculous. I cancelled it and haven't been back. I dare say had I still been living in a cabled area and subscribing to NTL (as it was back then) I would as easily have cancelled that for the same reason.

It's an absolute racket. If anything comes on that I really, really want to see, I can buy a box set for less. But that hasn't happened yet. What has happened is, I just watch a lot less telly.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Yes, I can identify with your remarks on here.

Sky Atlantic has very few programmes that I would rate as worth watching, but over time, there are a number of series that we have missed out on. I am now resorting to putting box sets for the things I've missed and want to see on my Christmas/birthday lists! That way I don't pay any more, because I do resent making additional payments to those I already make to VM.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Apparently, the cost is £1.12 per month per subscriber (see my post in the 'Coming Soon' thread).

Well, if the CS rep. meant £18 per YEAR, it's not too far out from £1.12 per month if you add on the VAT, but I agree with your sentiment that CS often talk off the hoof. Senior management are aware of this and believe that they do it "because they panic".

Those are exactly my sentiments too Maggy.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Sky Atlantic is a Market Differentiator / USP for Sky - it's totally understandable for Sky to act in the way they are.

Business is Business.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I disagree, Hugh. It's just not cricket.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

It isn't cricket at all. It is the highly competitive business of pay TV. Sky has invested money in an exclusive product that it hopes will attract customers. People taking their pay TV through a service provider other than Sky have no right to expect Sky's own channels to appear on it. For them to do so, a commercial agreement that is acceptable to the channel owner and the platform owner to be in place.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Highly competitive is extremely subjective. Sky have built up a dominant position based on years of no competition. They have continually abused this dominant position to the detriment of customers and competitors. This is the reason OFCOM stepped in (eventually, and in my opinion FAR too late) and introduced the various rate cards that now exist.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

SA is a disproportionate price rise for one channel.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I think there is a difference between the availability of big ticket content such as sports and movies, and channels that have been available cross-platform for decades, and new products that have never been available outside of the Sky delivery platform, which is what Sky Atlantic is.

There is a reasonable expectation that Sky One will be universally available on pay TV precisely because it has been for a long time, the cable operator(s) have built business models around it in good faith and consumers have invested in equipment or contract tie-ins. Ditto sports and movies.

But it would be perverse to insist that Sky can't create its own exclusive branded products. Just as you can only buy Harrods branded goods from Harrods, so Sky should be allowed to develop new, premium services that are its own exclusive property to sell. It's not as if HBO shows didn't exist before Sky signed an exclusive carriage deal for them. Any other pay TV or terrestrial operator could have gone in and done what Sky did. But they didn't.

Sky is a commercial enterprise, it has shareholders who invest money so they can get a return. At present, Sky's judgement is that the best return on their investment in HBO programming is to use it as a means of attracting new customers to their platform, rather than retailing it through other carriers and trying to pick up higher viewing figures and ad revenues.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

That is not at all how it works. Companies sign multi-year deals. If the deal is not renewed then the channel(s) will disappear.

The issue here is sky make the channel and sky supply the service. They externally want to charge others MUCH MORE for the channel rather than the internal charging. This is anti-competitive and is EXACTLY what OFCOM ruled on and why they introduced the rate cards.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Sorry, can't agree with that, Chris. Sky Atlantic is just a channel filled with the content that others provide that Sky just suck up and put an exclusive tag on. How can this be fair when there are other companies (eg Virgin Media) who do not supply channels of their own? It's unfair competition.

I might have some sympathy with this argument if Sky were actually producing the programmes for Sky Atlantic themselves, but they are seeking to dominate the whole market.

Incidentally, the first episodes of Mad Men were shown on BBC2, and so it is not true to say that 'new products ... have never been available outside of the Sky delivery platform'. But even so, I don't see how it can be OK for one company to buy up content from all those providers and then hog that material for itself.

One big thing that Sky has not yet grasped is that we are Sky customers too. This behaviour sets people against the company, and so I don't know how some people think it is to Sky's commercial advantage to engage in these despicable practices. Considering the small audiences SA attracts, I think it is stretching things to describe this as a 'unique selling point'. They are having a laugh and the competition authorities are too lazy to do anything about it.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Wrong.

Ofcom forced a rate card on Sky Sports 1 and 2 in 2010. It threatened to do so for movies as well, but backed off in 2012 because of the launch of services like Netflix. There is no compulsory rate card for the Sky Basics channels that I have been able to uncover. Sky and VM thrashed out a mutually acceptable deal for carriage of Flextech and Sky Basics channels in 2010 after the debacle of Sky One etc being pulled from VM for a period of months.

The anti-competitive charges against Sky have been upheld in a very narrow part of its business.

Sky do indeed both 'make' Sky Atlantic and distribute it via their own platform; they are entitled to do so and it is not anti-competitive because there has never been a ruling to say that it is. Virgin Media were free to make a deal with HBO but they didn't. Channel 4, ITV or the BBC could have done so, but didn't.

Sky is under no obligation to water down its investment in its brand. If you want SA, you know where to get it.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

NTL/Telewest used to have HBO programmes on demand but they did not make it exclusive. Sky have spoiled everything for non-Sky satellite subscribers and they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.

The fact that there has not yet been a ruling does not mean these Sky practices are not anti-competitive. Of course they are, that is why they do it, to take an unfair slice of the market.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Which is it? Is it wrong? Or is there a rate card?

There is a rate card in place for sport. This is what I was talking about. It is my opinion that the same should be the case for movies (There is NO effective competition in this area) and other channels.

The only reason Sky can afford the money they can is because they charge the amount they do. It is a spiral which has been allowed to continue and which has brought us to where we are. The other companies you mention cannot afford to pay the money Sky do because of this.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Yes, gizuk, and as customers, we are all screwed too!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

And who is to say that even if Sky Atlantic was available then whats the odds on Sky setting up other exclusive channels just to keep on their own platform and thus the cycle goes on.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Which is where Sky Atlantic came from. Announced on the very day Virgin made a big fanfare of finally getting Sky One HD. Not anti-competitive?

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

This I do agree with old boy, until Sky the content supplier and Sky the provider are seperated then all others will be at a disadvantage unless a politics gets involved that either forces Sky to do a deal with VM or forces VM to allow sky a mechanism to sell directly to customer via an app for e.g..

fortunately/unfortunately sky can jsut say we made it available directly to all using the now TV method at a "reasonable" price so it think they covered themselves to be honest

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Well I guess that's one of the reasons why Sky have done it, but it doesn't cut the mustard in my book. The Now TV box might make Sky Atlantic available to Sky customers but it remains the case that the content on Sky Atlantic is denied to other providers.

I'm glad that Sky are in the entertainment market and not the meat market.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Imagine that - having to make do with chicken at your local Morrisons because Tesco has exclusive rights to beef.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

No. Extremely clever imo.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Maybe HBO deserve some of the blame?

They choose to do a financially lucrative deal with Sky rather than, as they do in the US, make it available to multiple cable/satellite providers.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Yes, and at an enhanced price to boot, with labeling and cooking instructions an optional extra!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

It is not uncommon for a supermarket to have exclusive rights to the beef from whichever farm is supplying them.

You can get your beef (TV programmes) anywhere, but you can only get beef from a specific farm (prime HBO Angus) at the shop which is its exclusive retailer.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I doubt it; this initiative is more likely to have come from Sky. As I said earlier, it was on cable before it got to Sky and there was no exclusive deal then.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

also by being exclusive probably benefits them as they get exclsuivity money from sky and the interest from those outside of sky has committed more people to purchase DVD and Blu-Ray so its a win-win for them

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Even if there was it's not like it can't be picked up using other methods.

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

Didn't they buy the channels from VM, close one of them down (Bravo I think) and then start Sky Atlantic?

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Exactly. Sky have paid mega bucks for exclusivity, giving HBO probably more money than they would get from multiple non exclusive deals.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Yes, but not all the flaming beef, Chris! There is only one Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, etc.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Those are just individual TV shows out of the dozens upon dozens of shows broadcast to the UK each day. There is absolutely no sense in which the schedule of Sky Atlantic can be said to be "all the flaming beef". ;)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

When Sky first launched all those years ago the viewing public just accepted that if they wanted to watch "premium" sport and films then they would have to subscribe to Sky,NTL etc,why is it so different nowadays with the likes of Sky Atlantic?,if people genuinly want to watch it's content then sign up to Sky and watch it,don't just keep moaning that Sky wont just give it to VM as if its a god given right,on a personal note both myself and my family watch Atlantic on a frequent basis and as such are willing to pay Sky (whose owner I detest!) for the privilage, and before people reply with "well we don't really care about getting Sky Atlantic" then from the numerous threads and replies most of you clearly do!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

The problem with your analogy is that I could go into the supermarket and just buy the beef. In your example it would be like being forced to buy ALL your shopping from the same supermarket just because you want that one item.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Most of us clearly don't, or else, like you, we'd be subscribing to Sky!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Then why are there so many posts on the subject Andy? (55+ in just this thread and there are numerous others)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

and the vast majority of sky customer not bothered either as they don't watch it ;) most over rated channel ever

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

But according to this site,the most talked about.....;)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

rather have the sports HD channels what we know is coming ;););)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Do you really think that people go to Sky just to get Sky Atlantic?

You have to understand that many of us on here have no wish to subscribe to Sky for various reasons, including the other things that VM have to offer. Why should we have to choose? Both operators ought to be able to show this material.

We want Sky Atlantic, or alternatively the HBO shows that are on there, to be available on Virgin Media.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

If you want the content then surely you would expect to pay for it,why should Sky just say "there you are we've negotiated with HBO etc but you can have it for nothing,oh, and we don't want anything in return we just believe everyone should benefit on our behalf".......not going to happen IMO.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

How on earth did you come to the conclusion that VM want Atlantic "for nothing"?

They pay for all the other Sky channels, so why wouldn't they pay a reasonable price for Atlantic?

---------- Post added at 12:48 ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 ----------

Exactly.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

It's a Sky Basics channel, kop and VM have offered a reasonable price for it. I can't really see that there is much difference between Sky Atlantic and Sky One. I would have been just as cross if we were couldn't get programmes such as 'Fringe' and 'Strikeback' by being denied Sky One.

I would expect a lot more for a premium channel. ITV Encore might just meet that bill after its first year of broadcasting (if there are enough good quality home made dramas on it after the initial 12 months of repeats), and I would expect that VM would be able to add that to its line up after the initial period of Sky exclusivity.

I think potentially at least, ITV might be able to demonstrate to Sky what a genuine premium channel should aspire to in order to attract higher rates of income. Of course, if ITV fill their new channel with loads more reality programmes between the few good ones, they will merely be emulating the Sky methodology.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I thought the whole proposition with ITV Encore was to allow them to repeat all their top-kwalitee police procedurals and heartwarming dramas on an endless loop? Are they planning to make original drama for it as well?

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Yes, the first year of exclusivity to Sky will have repeats of ITV dramas and after that there will be new dramas aired on there. We don't know much more at the moment, this could be very good or it could be mediocre!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

It's ITV. It'll be grand if you like that sort of thing, but personally I don't think I'll miss it ....

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

You keep making comments like this. Now maybe I've missed something, but I don't think you've any proof to back this statement up.

I understand you want the content from the channel, but I think you have to accept that it aint coming to a Tivo near you anytime soon. The sooner you realise that life isn't fair the better. Talking of Tivo, I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd love to have Tivo functionality on Sky, but the technology is exclusive to VM in the UK so it it won't happen. I'm also sure there are plenty of people who only want to subscribe to Sky and don't want to use VM for various reason (just like you don't want to deal with Sky), but would love to have 152 internet - but guess what VM don't seem to won't share it with Sky, so if they want what the other company is offering then they know what they've got to do.

I'm not saying who's right or wrong, just saying it as it is.

Flame retardant hat on!!

Cheers

Grim

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

sky have a history of over charging as proved by Ofcom what more proof you want

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Sky may well have given VM an outrageous offer price, but that's hardly uncommon in the world of commerce. I've had outrageous quotes from tradesmen in the past, it usually means they don't really want the job but they'll do it if you're stupid enough to pay.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

that's more than likely

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

So that's a no then. I'm not trying to be argumentative, it's just these statements keep being made in a manner that implies an element of underlying fact. In reality the truth is there may be no more fact than the ramblings of the drunk propping up the bar in your local pub. Don’t get me wrong – I’d be as happy as anyone if VM could offer everyone a complete package, but I’m a realist and accept that’s very unlikely to happen (notice I didn't say never).

Cheers

Grim

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

hic!

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

At last someone not living in cloud cuckoo land. Well said that man:nworthy:

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Thanks, just wish I didn't have to keep coming across as a miserable so and so.

Cheers

Grim

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Your post was fair enough Grim. All businesses operate in the same way. Waitrose stock an exclusive tomato variety (Red Choice and it is delicious) and have recently had a 6 month exclusivity contract for Warburtons (the bread makers) new cake range too. I am sure all other supermarkets have similar arragements with many different suppliers. Debenhams have clothing manufacturers I have only ever seen in Debenhams and nowhere else. VM could just as easily give away their broadband, but why should they? VM could also get an exclusive channel for content from another country, but they don't want to go into content.

Whilst I am not the biggest Sky fan, they do know how to run a business effectively and extract the maximum amount profit they can. The fact they have been so successful for so long goes in some very minor way to substantiating that point.

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

l have always regarded you as a cheery old sod Grim.;):D

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

I see your viewpoint as realistic, rather than miserable..... :)

Re: No Sky Atlantic on VM for a "long long time"...
 

Cheers everyone, just keep getting the feeling if it was christmas I'd be say bah humbug!! As I've said though, I wish I could be a realist without being negative - maybe one day... I just get frustrated when people keep flogging a horse that is dead and has been for such a long time - you could even ask if the horse was ever really alive in the first place!!

Cheers

Grim