Thread: General Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
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Old 02-08-2018, 20:08   #1683
OLD BOY
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Re: Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2018)
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
The reason I say that is because some of the new channels are low value bargain basement type channels that won't get that many viewers.

Many wouldn't have appeared without VM needing quick replacements as they couldn't have afforded the carriage costs, so i'm sure that VM must have done them a deal that they couldn't have refused. I suspect that a short term contract will have been made for something like a year. They might even have agreed to carry some of the channels for free, given that they say that they have offered to carry the FTA UKTV channels for free, then, when the contracts expire they could ask them for the normal commercial rates, whilst knowing that some of them couldn't afford them. This would allow VM to say that it was the choice of the channel owners to leave the platform.

Horse & Country is a prime example as they had to come off Freesat because they couldn't afford the EPG fee.

Then, if VM don't feel that they need them anymore (especially if the UKTV channels return and some form of payment is agreed), they would most likely say something along the lines of them having such low viewer numbers that they have stopped carrying them to invest in better programming elsewhere blah blah.

There is also the fact that capacity is fast running out. Yes, they could increase capacity, but that would involve costs for new infrastructure. I think it more likely that they will follow the likes of Sky & Freeview and squeeze more channels into existing capacity. This would reduce the picture quality, so maybe this is the excuse that they will use to remove some of them??

I say some of them as I don't think that they will all be removed e.g. History HD, Paramount HD will probably stay.

I hope i'm wrong because different people like different things and more choice is always welcome, but this is what I suspect will happen.
The new channels are:

Love Nature, Paramount, Premier Sports 1 and 2, Freesports, BT Sports UK, Vice, Your TV, Zoomoo, Horse & Country. We also have IQTV on demand.

Which of these are 'low bargain basement type channels'?

Ok, you have Horse & Country, but all the other channels will please some, and personally, I would never watch Zoomoo (for children), IQTV, Vice, or any of the sports channels.

However, I would watch Love Nature and Paramount, so that's plus 2 over the UKTV channels in my book!

By the way, this is not the end. More channels are in line for the autumn and early next year, so far too early to judge at the moment.
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