Quote:
Originally Posted by heavyside
Isn't this a classic case of there being no winners, only losers. UKTV lose out on advertising revenue generated from 4 million potential viewers which makes their plea of 'we need the revenue from Virgin to be able to make new programmes' sound hollow. Virgin Media lose out on a powerful chunk of good will from their subscribers out of all proportion to the sums of money they are trying to save. But surely the biggest losers of all are those same potential viewers and subscribers who are, incidentally, the group least able to do anything to resolve this sorry state of affairs.
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They can always change providers, downgrade or negotiate a discount. I've negotiated a discount from VM & UKTV, so for the first 3 months getting back the UKTV channels would cost me £1 per month.
If I decide to keep with this arrangement after 3 months it would be £5 a month. After 6 months the full cost of £8 a month would apply.
If the UKTV channels are to come back soon, it will probably be in the first 3 months, so after 3 months I'll be looking to downgrade to the free M/Player pack.
This, coupled with the newly sourced UKTV channels, will be enough to meet my needs. In order to try and keep customers, VM have moved some channels downwards. This has had the effect of further devaluing the XL/Full house pack.
This will work out cheaper and VM get less money from me. If I move to Sky, I will get my faulty satellite wiring replaced free of charge and a hefty new customer discount. A win win situation all round!
Sky are currently advertising offers to Virgin Media customers where they will pay some or all VM early cancellation fees* and a hefty discount for changing too.
* If VM don't agree to waive these early cancellation fees, keep a record of them and watch out for the Ofcom decision regarding whether the removal of the UKTV channels was a breach of contract or not.
If they decide it was, you will then be able to claim back the fees from VM too!