Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Following on from a discussion in the 'Coming Soon' thread:

MB has been told a rumour that BT Sport will be taken out of the Full House/XL packages when the current contract expires.

If VM were to use the money saved to meet Sky halfway or even pay the asking price and bring Sky Atlantic to the top package instead, would you prefer this? I'm interested in which would be a greater pull for customers nto join VM or upgrade their package.

I say the top package as, due to the cost, I imagine it would be used to encourage people to upgrade, but as a non premium channel, it could theoretically go into any of the lower packages.

Edit: I couldn't get it to accept 3 options (the missing one was a not bothered option), so I've asked admin to add it.

If this is your preference, can you please wait until it's added.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

No contest for me as its BT Sport every time.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

A no brainer, very little on sky Atlantic that I watch, whereas there are loads of rugby and football on BT sports.

Also don't forget BT Sports has the uk rights for the coming Ashes series.

Your third option - not bothered should have been both. (If you're not bothered you won't bother to vote will you?)

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

If Sky Atlantic replaced BT sport my TiVo would get thrown out of the window with the Ashes coming up !
Can get Sky Atlantic, via Sky Go, mostly imported US crap. Think the only thing I've watched on is Alan Partridge. It's an irrelevant question anyway , the whole point of the channel is that it's for Sky customers.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

bt sport every time but silly question sky wont let anyone else have SA ever plus think be another deal with BT sport as it suits both parties to do one

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

l am just waiting for OB's answer on this matter.:)

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

What about Sky 1, is that for Sky customers only as well.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

BT Sport without any doubt.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

If VM remove BT sport I'll be binning TV XL, 90% of it is dross imo.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Yup, me too.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

My preference would be for VM to retain BT Sport, but include AMC in the wholesale deal.

To do anything else will lose VM viewers, which means they will get less revenue, and that in turn will mean less money for investment and new content.

In any case, I think Sky have more sports subscribers (proportionately) than VM, and so BT would lose money without the wholesale deal.

As just one example, I get BT Sports channels as part of the Full House package, but I never watch it.

I expect there are also many people who watch the sport on BT Sport but would not pay the high price that would otherwise be charged for it. That must increase BT's advertising revenue.

It makes sense all round to keep BT Sports on VM as a part of a wholesale arrangement in my view.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Keep BT Sport....as I will always watch the National League footie but nothings stands out (for me!) on SA.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I'd rather have both, TBH.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

A surprise stance given your views about the future of Linear TV.:)

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Why, Den? I want all available quality programming that is available, no matter what.

The fact that sooner or later this programming will be part of OTT services only is not a matter for the here and now. It is only 2017, after all. :D

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I was told yonks ago that Sky did offer it to VM, but at a hugely inflated price than the norm for non premium channels. IIRC it was something like 17/18p per customer per week as opposed to the normal 2/3p. Sounds trivial, but it's a lot when added together for each VM customer.

Maybe Sky have relented as their costs have increased and subscriber base has plateaued and VM have agreed to use the money saved from BT Sport to appease customers in providing the only major channel missing from the platform??

I remember when Sky asked for silly money to keep all their basic channels on VM, then, when anyone serious about defecting to Sky would have done so, they played ball with VM again.

Maybe it's the same with SA?

By the looks of things so far, it looks like most people would prefer to keep BT Sport in Full House, but BT may not be giving VM the choice either by vetoing it or asking for too much money for it to be feasible to continue with the present arrangement.

The additional rumour may be because BT are attempting to encourage customers to pay a standalone subscription by throwing in Boxnation and AMC.

A quick Google shows that on VM BT Sport is £18 per month and Boxnation is £11 per month, so Boxnation subscribers would be paying £7 extra for all the BT Sport channels and AMC which isn't too bad.

However, those who wanted to keep BT Sport (perhaps BT are relying on people being used to having it now) would have to pay £18 for Boxnation & AMC- not so good. I suppose that they could get this figure down by moving down from Full House if 'free' BT Sport was their only reason for taking the top package.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

If BT sport was withdrawn I would just downgrade package; SA isn't a substitute, different audience. I also wouldn't pay extra for BT Sport as a premium channel, It's a nice but not essential extra . BT and VM could shoot themselves in the foot over this with a massive loss of viewers and subscriptions. The only other thing going for XL is HD channels, even that I could live without as the main channels HD are on freeview now.
Suspect this is one of those rumours that won't happen, as it doesn't make sense.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

It is a completely different genre and it might prompt people to leave or downgrade if true, but it might also attract new customers and encourage existing customers to upgrade who wouldn't do so with SA being present.

I was just trying to gauge what people would think if it happened, but if CF members are anything to go by it looks like it would be a bad move by VM/BT.

It would be interesting to see if the figures would be significantly different if those able to get SA via a borrowed account etc were unable to do so.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I've yet to meet anyone who cares about SA.

Aside from Game of Thrones, there isnt a single programme on it I watch.

It could cease broadcasting tomorrow and no tears would be shed here.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I have to agree, I stream SA via NOWTV just for GOT, when it finishes I cancel. There are other good shows on the channel, but nothing that bothers me. I never bother looking to see what's on it. Once GOT finishes it may not be in demand as much.

Netflix for me is the winner for content, in my house anyway!

---------- Post added at 09:04 ---------- Previous post was at 09:00 ----------

I wouldn't increase my subscription(Mix TV) with VM to get it, should it become available.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I do the same. There is nothing other than GOT worth watching on SA. I voted not bothered to be honest but BT sport does have the edge over SA.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

There's loads of good stuff on the Now TV entertainment pack from Sky Atlantic! What kind of stuff do you guys watch? :confused:

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

A broad range of TV one would say.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

You ever tried Ray Donovan, Billions? those are just two excellent series on Atlantic, I'm sure OB could add other series to those two.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I watch quite a bit off Sky Atlantic over the course of a year that said if Sky were ever to include it only in a higher bundle I certainly wouldn't pay anymore.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Still not amounting to much when you compare it to the sport on offer on BT Sport...

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

No interest in Billions at all.
Ray Donovan - I watched a couple a few years ago, it was borderline ok.
If I had nothing else at all to watch, i'd probably watch it. but thats never likely to happen (same for CSI btw).

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I detest sport, so was livid when VM decided we ALL wanted it and put up ALL our monthly bills.

It should have been an opt-in extra.

But Sky Atlantic? Nothing on there I'd like to watch. I'd rather have a lower bill.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I voted BT Sport, but I would prefer to have cheaper bills and decide myself whether I really require BT Sport. Most of my sporting requirements are covered by Sky Sports and Eurosport.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

The SA programmes currently listed in the 'dramas' section on Now TV:

100 Code
1992
1993
24: Live Another Day
Aquarius
Ballers
Banshee
Billions
Boardwalk Empire
Brotherhood
Californication
Deadwood
Dexter
Dice
Fleming
Fortitude
Gomorrah
Guerilla
HAPPYish
Hit and Miss
I'm Dying Up Here
Love Child
Mad Men
Midnight Sun
Nurse Jackie
Occupied
Oz
Penny Dreadful
Public Enemy
Ray Donovan
Riviera
Sex and the City
Show Me a Hero
Sleeper Cell
The Affair
The Borgias
The Deuce
The Last Panthers
The Leftovers
The Night Of
The Tunnel
The Wire
The Young Pope
Tin Star
True Detective
Twin Peaks
Vice Principals
Westworld

That's what is available on Now TV from Sky Atlantic at the moment, and other popular dramas such as Game of Thrones and Blue Bloods aren't even in that list at the moment.

Of course, not everything Sky Atlantic shows may be your cup of tea, but this list is pretty impressive. I can personally vouch for shows such as 'The Night Of', 'Sleeper Cell', 'The Last Panthers', The Tunnel', 'The Affair' and more. I can only suggest that if there's genuinely only GoT that you are interested in from this list, then dramas aren't really your thing. However, I think some at least of those who post on here that there is nothing on SA that interests them, haven't even looked at the offering.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

What did you think of Westworld? When it's repeated I might sub to Now TV for it as it's the only thing that caught my eye.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

This is Sky you are talking about.:erm:

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Well, some people don't care about having either channel. Both would be nice as it would appease everybody, even those that don't care either way, but I suspect that this would push up bills even more at a time when people are getting fed up of the constant price increases. According to the news, inflation is rising, whilst wages are stagnating too, which will put pressure onto disposable income.

If VM take off BT Sport, offer nothing extra to replace it and don't decrease the price (very unlikely as it was marketed as 'free' and prices are already set to increase) I imagine that it would result in an increase in churn.

What VM could have done is say that BT Sport is being withdrawn from Full House, but that the TV part of the bill would be frozen this year.

How would people react to throwing in Premier Sports as a replacement? Maybe this is the reason why Freesports has not (yet?) been added as they're discussing this possibility with them??

---------- Post added at 18:49 ---------- Previous post was at 18:48 ----------

Aye, this is true MB.

---------- Post added at 18:58 ---------- Previous post was at 18:49 ----------

A think that a lot of people feel the same way, but they are only able to offer it in Full House as non sports fans are indirectly subsidising sports fans.

It would be like putting Baby TV into Full House and forcing those without children having to pay a little extra every month!

Having said that, if throwing in BT Sport with the top package attracts/retains customers or encourages them to upgrade (which this, albeit not scientific, poll suggests it does), maybe the net result is extra sports channels at no extra cost to consumers when this extra revenue is taken into account (even if they never watch BT Sport)??

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

BT Sport is where the AFL (Aussie rules) is. I wouldn't pay extra for it. A season pass is £125. To me that's a lot just for one sport. I don't care for boxing (legalised assault).

I think there is content on BT Sport that isn't covered anywhere else without a fee and having some included sport channels is a good thing.

Content is a sensitive matter but like the license fee spreading the cost around is less per person than it would be to charge varying amounts. There will be some losers who are very focussed in their viewing but if you do watch a wider range of content but are not a die hard fan of any then a more general approach works better.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

It won’t happen unless they’ve got something big up there sleeve and Sky Atlantic by itself won’t be good enough

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I did like True Detective, although the second series was rubbish, and The leftovers was great.

There is one thing about SA, it always draws a reaction. It may one day arrive on Virgin Media, but expect Sky to pull another rabbit out of the hat, with a new exclusive channel.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

How about an option of No?

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Whatever happens with BT Sport I do not expect to have to pay any more to get what I currently have.

So split BT Sport out and charge £20pm for it and I expect my package to go down by £20 to reflect the real value of BT Sport not the fictional "free" crap.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Well, this is a hypothetical poll which assumes that the rumour that BT Sport is to be withdrawn from the Full House pack is true.

My interest is whether using some/all of the money saved to get Sky Atlantic (the last major channel missing VM) would appease people.

---------- Post added at 14:31 ---------- Previous post was at 14:28 ----------

Don't VM employees get TV for free anymore (only paying tax on the net worth of the free packages)?

---------- Post added at 14:36 ---------- Previous post was at 14:31 ----------

100% agree.

Maybe their USP will be to offer more 4K and deny it to VM after making SA available.

Having said that, I was recently reading that 4K hasn't been as successful as was originally assumed. Apparently, there are still many people who, despite having HD sets, still go from the beginning of the EPG's and don't bother with the HD variants!

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

But the £20 would be the price charged to a limited number of subscribers to a premium package, not the price subsidised by all XL pack viewers, whether they are interested in the content or not.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

They never have done. There is a staff discount, but it's not free.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Oh right! I was wondering why it would matter to tweetiepooh if BT Sport left Full House as it would have still been free anyway as a standalone package, but unfortunately this wouldn't be the case.

I'd love this to be true but I doubt it.
Liberty Global and BT are just embarking on the same type of negotiation that Discovery tried with Sky previously. One will back down and the status-quo will probably continue.

I have in the past speculated that BT would eventually make BT Sports unaffordable, for Virgin to include in their competitive packages. This could be an early step into that new future, but I don't expect it yet.

BT Fibre covers a lot of the areas where there is also Virgin BB so they may get brave and try this in the future. Eventually.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Well, if BT decide that they will abandon the wholesale deal, maybe it won't matter because other global players could take over these matches! One possible scenario is that Amazon dips its toe into the water by going for the smaller package before deciding whether to take on Sky. We are on the cusp of the market opening up, which will ultimately bring those lower prices people are looking for.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

BT Sport for me, I get Atlantic for as little as £3-4 a month through NowTV. If BT went standalone I'm sure it'll be an absolute fortune in comparison.

The poll is effectively asking are you a sports fan or TV show fan. You'll always get a mixed response

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I'm not interested in any of the options. The moment we get offered Sky Atlantic is the moment Sky invent a new super duper channel only available to their direct customers and the programmes on offer become the usual repeats of repeats. They did it with Sky 1 way back.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I agree, that is exactly what will happen, they will have a plan, probably involving UHD.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Fancy that a company with a plan :D

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

No, it's asking if BT Sport were to be removed from Full House, would you be appeased by SA being added?

Obviously, whether you like one, both or neither genres will impact on a persons choice!

---------- Post added at 13:31 ---------- Previous post was at 13:23 ----------

I'm not asking if people would prefer BT Sport be removed and SA added, I'm asking people to assume that the rumour is true and BT Sport was hypotheticaly taken out of Full House. Would the addition of SA appease you as a customer for the loss of BT Sport?

Maybe the question could have been phrased better.

I tend to agree that should Sky allow VM to have SA, they will deny VM something new to obtain the edge over their competitors. Their strategy seems to be "we'll wholesale most of our products to make extra money out of them, but not quiet everything. For that you'll have to come to us".

Cable TV was around long before Sky and DTH satellite and Sky used to put in their annual reports that they viewed wholesaling their channels to cable companies as merely another income stream. After allowing Sky to overtake them and starting to get their act together, Sky obviously changed their tune some years ago and see cable/VM as much more of a threat.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Sky said some time back its biggest competitors are the online streaming services , I'd imagine they even deem BT as a bigger competitor owing to it's entry into Sport.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Ahhh right, maybe this explains their apparant willinness to work more closely with VM eg starting to promote the Sky premium channels. They never used to as they didn't make anything from them, they were only there to aid channel parity with Sky.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I believe I read a while ago that in return for an agreement on a lower price charged to Virgin, who were not making money from the Premium channels, there was a commitment to have Virgin-specific commercials advertising the Sky premium channels.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Sounds sensible, competition is one thing, but working together can often bring benefits to two separate companies.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

They also have a deal in place with Sky to use Sky's targeted ad service Sky Adsmart.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...ertising-deal/

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Intetesting link MM.

Are VM customers being served targeted advertising right now?

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

I can get Sky Atlantic for £19.99 for six months with a Now TV box.

How much will BT Sport be standalone? More than that for one month?

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Keep BT Sport

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

No, it's still under development at the moment.

A question for Sky users: can you tell when you are getting targetted adverts? ("Hey, you with the south-facing garden...")

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

No thats the idea of it , the viewer essentially just sees an ad like they would normally.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Yes, but can you tell from the content of the advert?

On websites it's often really obvious. For example, this forum is currently showing me an advert for Holiday Inn Express. More than a coincidence that I stayed in one of their hotels last week?

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

It's easier to know online because you generally know what sites you've been visiting of late.

I'm not sure what data Sky Adsmart uses to target it's ads if I'm honest and the majority of the time I'm fast forwarding them.:D

I watch very little live TV the exception being Sport.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

It's showing me an advert for stair lifts, and that's bloody cheeky !
All a bit irrelevant as we all fast forward through the ads these days anyway? That's one of the main advantages of a PVR.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Good point. I guess one workaround would be to ask for the log in details of someone who already subscribed or to share a subscription. BT Sport sometimes have offers too on sites like Groupon to bring the cost down.

Is BT Sport available in the normal way on TV Anywhere (or is it a separate app)? If a separate app, can it be casted so that it can be watched on the big telly?

---------- Post added at 12:30 ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 ----------

LOL Mr K! That made me chuckle :D

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

BT Sport is available on TV anywhere for Virgin customers but cannot be cast.

For BT subscribers I believe it can be sent to a Chromecast.

It's much easier to find a now TV box for £20 than a legitimate BT subscriber. Everyone I know who watches it does so because it's part of Virgin TV XL.

Re: Would you prefer to have Sky Atlantic instead of BT Sport in Full House/XL?
 

Thanks for explaining :)