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sammyjayuk · 24-02-2009, 02:38

8.4% isn't *that* bad when you consider that they're all being forced to pay Â£10pcm extra. Especially since it's the same Â£10pcm whether you take premium packages or not - I expect that uptake would increase if the HD sub was reduced for customers taking standard packages only.

We've also yet to see the results from the Â£49 Sky+HD box offer - it might be enough to sway some people, although there's still the matter of the expensive HD sub.

Then you've got the cost of the HDTV itself. It's obviously an awful lot cheaper to buy an HDTV nowadays, what with 32 inch sets available for under Â£300 - but that's still a lot of money compared to what a 32 inch CRT used to cost, before everywhere seemed to stop selling them.

I wonder how well Freesat HD boxes are selling. Hopefully well enough to destroy the myth that the majority of people interested in HD are mainly interested in HD movies and sports - i.e. those customers who already pay a heavy premium for their TV service. BBC HD isn't doing too badly, given that it receives almost no promotion - something like "available on iPlayer" is sorely needed for programmes also on BBC HD.

Also, VM *need* to invest in HD, as a priority, to try and grab the customers who aren't interested in paying a Â£10pcm premium. I don't really think it's worth them trying to take on the premium market, not as a priority anyway, because the Â£49 offer probably means that Sky will soon have most of that market cornered.

I look forward to the eventual arrival of ITV's HD content, although seeing as a similar announcement was made ages ago with regards to Channel 4's HD content I won't be holding my breath for *any* new HD! Which is a shame...

Sam

24-02-2009, 02:38	#3
sammyjayuk Inactive Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Plymouth, PL1 (ex-TW) Age: 38 Services: M TV (SA V+), XXL BB, M phone, Pace Sky+HD (HD, Variety, Movies) & O2 iPhone 3G 35 Posts: 191	Re: The VM HD Discussion Thread 8.4% isn't that bad when you consider that they're all being forced to pay Â£10pcm extra. Especially since it's the same Â£10pcm whether you take premium packages or not - I expect that uptake would increase if the HD sub was reduced for customers taking standard packages only. We've also yet to see the results from the Â£49 Sky+HD box offer - it might be enough to sway some people, although there's still the matter of the expensive HD sub. Then you've got the cost of the HDTV itself. It's obviously an awful lot cheaper to buy an HDTV nowadays, what with 32 inch sets available for under Â£300 - but that's still a lot of money compared to what a 32 inch CRT used to cost, before everywhere seemed to stop selling them. I wonder how well Freesat HD boxes are selling. Hopefully well enough to destroy the myth that the majority of people interested in HD are mainly interested in HD movies and sports - i.e. those customers who already pay a heavy premium for their TV service. BBC HD isn't doing too badly, given that it receives almost no promotion - something like "available on iPlayer" is sorely needed for programmes also on BBC HD. Also, VM need to invest in HD, as a priority, to try and grab the customers who aren't interested in paying a Â£10pcm premium. I don't really think it's worth them trying to take on the premium market, not as a priority anyway, because the Â£49 offer probably means that Sky will soon have most of that market cornered. I look forward to the eventual arrival of ITV's HD content, although seeing as a similar announcement was made ages ago with regards to Channel 4's HD content I won't be holding my breath for any new HD! Which is a shame... Sam