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VirginMediaSucks · 01-03-2007, 14:28

Yes.

You've hit the nail on the head about the clash between content providers and carriers. As long as the content providers are owned by the carriers, then there will always be an issue.

It's compounded by the fact that there are basically just two subscription TV carriers, so the market dynamics that usually iron these things out in other industries just aren't there.

Think for example about your electricity or gas supply.. you can buy your electricity from whoever you like. The people who provide you with electricity (i.e. the National Grid and your local supply company) have no interest in who you buy from. A similar thing is happening with the local loop (i.e. your telephone line) - BT have spun this out to a unit called OpenReach who basically provide the copper infrastructure, and probably OpenReach will be floated in time.

Ironically, NTL used to be National Transcommunications Ltd. They were the people who ran the IBA's television transmitters for them, acting independently of whichever ITV company or Channel 4 variant was using them.

So you could.. in theory.. rent your cable TV from an infrastructure provider and buy your actually programming from somewhere else. These days, that should certainly be possible.

(Pedants will point out that Sky actually broadcasts over the Astra satellite system as do many other companies, but none that I can think of in the UK).

But sometimes market forces create a monster, and in the case of Virgin Media and Sky, the way their businesses work means that the customer is always very much at the whims of the business and they don't have real freedom of choice. In these cases, the natural step is proper regulation.. which is where OFCOM would come in.

Added:
Further to what I was saying about Astra, in theory you can pick up any signal broadcast by the Astra satellite your dish is point at, all you'd generally need to do is change your STB or add another STB. To that extent, it's an open system. Virgin Media is a fully closed system as it stands, and this is one of Sky's gripes. If Virgin Media rented capacity on the Astra system and Sky had access to the old NTL/Telewest cable system then that would be REAL competition.

Added again:
You can have a poke at the Astra Channel Finder to see what Astra carries, 357 channels on the 28.2Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂºE satellite that Sky uses alone.

01-03-2007, 14:28	#5
VirginMediaSucks Inactive Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 59	Re: Should OFCOM step in? Yes. You've hit the nail on the head about the clash between content providers and carriers. As long as the content providers are owned by the carriers, then there will always be an issue. It's compounded by the fact that there are basically just two subscription TV carriers, so the market dynamics that usually iron these things out in other industries just aren't there. Think for example about your electricity or gas supply.. you can buy your electricity from whoever you like. The people who provide you with electricity (i.e. the National Grid and your local supply company) have no interest in who you buy from. A similar thing is happening with the local loop (i.e. your telephone line) - BT have spun this out to a unit called OpenReach who basically provide the copper infrastructure, and probably OpenReach will be floated in time. Ironically, NTL used to be National Transcommunications Ltd. They were the people who ran the IBA's television transmitters for them, acting independently of whichever ITV company or Channel 4 variant was using them. So you could.. in theory.. rent your cable TV from an infrastructure provider and buy your actually programming from somewhere else. These days, that should certainly be possible. (Pedants will point out that Sky actually broadcasts over the Astra satellite system as do many other companies, but none that I can think of in the UK). But sometimes market forces create a monster, and in the case of Virgin Media and Sky, the way their businesses work means that the customer is always very much at the whims of the business and they don't have real freedom of choice. In these cases, the natural step is proper regulation.. which is where OFCOM would come in. Added: Further to what I was saying about Astra, in theory you can pick up any signal broadcast by the Astra satellite your dish is point at, all you'd generally need to do is change your STB or add another STB. To that extent, it's an open system. Virgin Media is a fully closed system as it stands, and this is one of Sky's gripes. If Virgin Media rented capacity on the Astra system and Sky had access to the old NTL/Telewest cable system then that would be REAL competition. Added again: You can have a poke at the Astra Channel Finder to see what Astra carries, 357 channels on the 28.2Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂºE satellite that Sky uses alone.