[harry_hitch]

Muppetman, Yep, I got that from trailers. Trailers are meant to excite and entice you into watching something. None of the shows you mentioned enticed me to watch those programs (much like countless movie trailers, don't make me rush to the cinema)

I believe content is over-rated. I would gladly pay the money I do now for 20-30 channels showing top quality programming all day every day, rather than 170 odd channels showing poorly produced programs, spread around two or three high quality programs.
I appreciate what I class as quality programming will not be classed as quality programming by many other people, but as you rightly say life would boring if it we were the same.
Also, how much content do people actually watch? I have my favourite shows/channels (discovery, universal, nat geo, nat geo wild, e4 channel 4, bbc 1+2, all comedy central, film four, dave watch, eden, gold, horror channel, history ITV 1-4) and watch or record most things from those channels. I don't watch much, if anything, from the rest (I might record the odd film, but if those channels did not exist, someone else would probably buy the rights) This is why I think content is over-rated - quality over quantity.
Alas, to keep everyone happy, the way the pay tv system works currently is the only way it will work:'-(
You are quite correct though, Virgin have most of the popular channels, and the missing HD channels would make Virgin a much better proposition for people. (It would certainly make me very happy to have Universal, History and nat geo wild)

P.s. Kudo's on the Treasure (island quip) I did chuckle at that!!