Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
They already have Netflix on the TiVo and they have invited Amazon as well. What's so special about Sky?
|
The simple thing is that Now TV would potentially take sales away from VM. Now TV is a far closer substitute to Virgin Media's TV service than Netflix is as Now TV offers a range of live and on-demand services covering many categories including up-to-date movies and sport. Netflix does not offer such live services nor does it offer sport, so it complements Virgin's existing offerings. It's not an ideal situation for Virgin Media but it does give VM something that Sky does not possess.
The other thing is that Netflix does not sell broadband and a full TV service. Now TV's owner Sky does and could target VM customers who signed up via VM.
But the key thing is that VM and Sky do not want to make it easy for fully-fledged pay-TV customers to downgrade to Now TV. For Sky, Now TV is aimed at Freeview customers who want a little more but don't want a fully-fledged pay-TV service.
---------- Post added at 23:55 ---------- Previous post was at 23:42 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunslinger
It often occurs to me also that if Sky were to develop Now TV into a full blown Youview type service - effectively Sky without a dish - they could probably blow Virgin out of the water.
|
I'm sure the long-term future of Sky is via IPTV once its broadband network can support it. That would reduce the cost of installation which would justify the investment in the infrastructure. However, the current set-up is favourable to the incumbent (Sky) as it is not easy to switch to its competitors as different technologies and equipment are deployed by BT, Sky and VM.
In Italy, Sky offers its Sky HD box to Telecom Italia's customers via IPTV, a clever way of deterring Telecom Italia from developing its own service.