remember the pay tv ofcom investigation - turns out SKY missed the deadline

[Morden]

Dunno but I never watched SKY apart from lost and BSG, lost is well.... lost now. Well the script writers look like they are lost anyway.


BSG finishes after this series and I got it on DVD or HD DVD anyway.

Simpsons on C4 so that does as well.
Being honest, I dont rate SKY 1, ITV 1 is probably more watched in my house.

Pushing daisys looks like it is shaping up to be a regular watch and Dr Who and Terminator kinda cover my viewing apart from movies.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

Speaking as one who had television from NTL I am still happy I made the move to sky.

I think a lot of people are still hung over from the losing of the sky 1 episode ( pardon the pun ) so a lot of comments could be seen as very much tongue in cheek.

Lets face it, what did vm replace sky 1 with?

Oh yes I remember my ntl days.

analogue tv due to ntl not upgrading the cables.

Paying more than digital customers for less than a 10th of the channels.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

the thing is a fair and competitive market is not always a good thing.

so at the moment we have a good pay tv provider and poor pay tv providers, it will simply bring sky down to the level of vm and we will have more poor pay tv providers.

Everyone here moaning about sky do they have a good reason they cannot get sky tv themselves or is out of choice?

Mate that is a load of rubbish!

It would bring Sky down to the same level as VM! How would it? Sky aren't about to change their tactics or their customer service is not going to get suddenly worse because competition is healthier.

Sky are far too dominant and use bully boy tactics to get what they want.
If they were fairer then the market would be much better off. I understand they are a business and really can not say i blame them but they are crippling every one else on the market and are treading on too many toes.
Other companies should be allowed to grow and offer good services without being bullied because that means their customers lose out.

I had Sky a few years ago and found i got an overall better deal with then Telewest and i get an even better deal now they are VM. there has been some major improvements.

Fact is Sky was worried two small cable companies becoming one and doubling its strength and capability. They have much more muscle as one company than they ever did as two and therefore Sky did it's best to **** on it's launch. They put VM in their place from the word go. Only now are they beginning to come back from that and are now posting their best quarter since merger and one of the best in cable history.

Now there is issues with them ignoring their regulators! You can't do that!

---------- Post added at 13:51 ---------- Previous post was at 13:37 ----------

Originally Posted by arcamalpha2004

Speaking as one who had television from NTL I am still happy I made the move to sky.

I think a lot of people are still hung over from the losing of the sky 1 episode ( pardon the pun ) so a lot of comments could be seen as very much tongue in cheek.

Lets face it, what did vm replace sky 1 with?

Let me see.......
1. Virgin 1 lots more first run content than Sky1 and lots more home commissions.
2. Setanta sports.
3. Setanta sports news.
4. About 2 thousand more hours of VOD and it's still growing. Including some HD series too.
5. Broadband upgrades and another two coming soon 50meg is coming soon and 4 meg customers get a free upgrade to 10meg.
6. Aresenal tv, Liverpool tv.
7. Free music videos on demand!

So quite a lot actually. Lot's more than ever just having Sky basics

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

Mate that is a load of rubbish!


---------- Post added at 13:51 ---------- Previous post was at 13:37 ---------
Let me see.......
1. Virgin 1 lots more first run content than Sky1 and lots more home commissions.
2. Setanta sports.
3. Setanta sports news.
4. About 2 thousand more hours of VOD and it's still growing. Including some HD series too.
5. Broadband upgrades and another two coming soon 50meg is coming soon and 4 meg customers get a free upgrade to 10meg.
6. Aresenal tv, Liverpool tv.
7. Free music videos on demand!

So quite a lot actually. Lot's more than ever just having Sky basics

Cor! If it was that good why did I ever move away?

Oh yeah! I just remembered and wishing to rain on your parade ........

1. It's been ages since the launch and two prestige wide screen offerings have been castrated into an unatural 14.9:1 in a 4.3 frame aspect because Virgins high profile Sky1 replacement is STILL a DEDICATED 4.3 CHANNEL.
2. I see lots of complaints about aspect and PQ issues regarding Setanta on VM. Can't say it's any better on Sky as I don't subscribe but I don't recall seeing complaints about it on the Sky Forums.
3. Not a sporty person so couldn't give a monkeys. Sorry.
4. Could very rarely access it. Series and Eps seemed to disappear and reappear without any logical pattern. Many series were incomplete. Catchup TV was mostly unavailable or unpopulated.
5. Over contended in many areas, STM, off shored support, Phorm, lack of network maintenace and upgrades.
6. Not a sporty person, hate football, so couldn't give a monkeys. Sorry.
7. Was always unavailable, not that I tried too hard.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

Let me see.......
1. Virgin 1 lots more first run content than Sky1 and lots more home commissions.
2. Setanta sports.
3. Setanta sports news.
4. About 2 thousand more hours of VOD and it's still growing. Including some HD series too.
5. Broadband upgrades and another two coming soon 50meg is coming soon and 4 meg customers get a free upgrade to 10meg.
6. Aresenal tv, Liverpool tv.
7. Free music videos on demand!

So quite a lot actually. Lot's more than ever just having Sky basics

Not really, if skys income for content dropped then the investment into future content would also drop alongside it, in addition the lower profits would mean they subsidise their broadband less meaning something would have to give on their broadband which is actually very good quality (no noticeable contention and no traffic shaping).
If sky was broken up skys customers would likely be ringing a sky reseller to get problems fixed instead of sky directly, sky would also likely cost more as the resellers would need to add their profit margins on top of the costs.

My question remains tho instead of changing to sky why are you instead staying with VM and calling for changes to be made to make sky worse? are you on a retention deal?

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Cor! If it was that good why did I ever move away?

Oh yeah! I just remembered and wishing to rain on your parade ........

1. It's been ages since the launch and two prestige wide screen offerings have been castrated into an unatural 14.9:1 in a 4.3 frame aspect because Virgins high profile Sky1 replacement is STILL a DEDICATED 4.3 CHANNEL.
2. I see lots of complaints about aspect and PQ issues regarding Setanta on VM. Can't say it's any better on Sky as I don't subscribe but I don't recall seeing complaints about it on the Sky Forums.
3. Not a sporty person so couldn't give a monkeys. Sorry.
4. Could very rarely access it. Series and Eps seemed to disappear and reappear without any logical pattern. Many series were incomplete. Catchup TV was mostly unavailable or unpopulated.
5. Over contended in many areas, STM, off shored support, Phorm, lack of network maintenace and upgrades.
6. Not a sporty person, hate football, so couldn't give a monkeys. Sorry.
7. Was always unavailable, not that I tried too hard.

1. My word! change the record will you? Big deal it broadcasts in 4:3 and not widescreen, that's all you ever say and it's the only argument you have!
There is a lot more new content on V1 since the launch than there has been on Sky1! Sky2 was a repeat of Sky1 so no loss and Sky three was a repeats of Sky1 and too!
V1 is showing three of the top American imports to come out this year all bar one has been giving a second season! Chuck renewed, Riches renewed, SCC tbc but looks likely. What did Sky1 have? Journey man? Oh yeah that got canned because it was rubbish.
2. Picture quality can't be expected to be the same as Sky because it is a hell of a lot cheaper than Sky! Plus not everyone has HD, the majority of joe public still have standard non widescreen sets never mind HD compatible.
Picture quality is only an issue if you are used to HD broadcasts from Sky but like i said there is an £8 difference! Plus vm customers get it for jak.
3. You're not a sporty person? Good for you, there is much bigger market for Sport than there is Sky 1. Sport is the biggest thing in England and VM xl customers get it for no additional cost. I was not asking you of your personal experience, i was telling you and the other poster that we have infact seen lots since the removal of Sky basics.
4. I can access VOD and find my easily accessible and reliable as can a lot of other people. Infact the recent quarter results from VM show VOD is being used more and more and recieves millions upon millions of hits and views every quarter. Catch up tv is a great addition as i do not have a pvr. There are only select series without the full series showing and that is down the distriubutors not VM because showing full series affects DVD sales. We have seen quite a few HD series added to OD since the removal of Sky basics too which includes Sopranos, Lost Ghost whisperer etc.
5.Off shored support? Last time i looked Sky used offshored centres too!
6.Phorm is not an issue because you have the option to opt out of it problem solved!

---------- Post added at 13:33 ---------- Previous post was at 13:20 ----------

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

Not really, if skys income for content dropped then the investment into future content would also drop alongside it, in addition the lower profits would mean they subsidise their broadband less meaning something would have to give on their broadband which is actually very good quality (no noticeable contention and no traffic shaping).
If sky was broken up skys customers would likely be ringing a sky reseller to get problems fixed instead of sky directly, sky would also likely cost more as the resellers would need to add their profit margins on top of the costs.

Sky will have exactly the same income if they were broken up. They are not about to lose their subscribers, only the amount of influence they have over the market because they won't be able to use things like Sky basics as bargaining tools to destroy competition. You obviously do not understand the sort of negative influence it has on the market and has competition is so stiffled so i will leave it there, it's far too long winded.
Sky BB may well be good for you but it has certain restrictions due to exchange locations. I am glad you get a good bb service but an extremely large percentage does not. VM may have stm but it is only affecting heavy users. I use torrents and am not affected. They say you need to be downloading something like 9gb a night which is the equivalent to three movie files. With Sky you have a certain allowance per month for download limits after that you are screwed in my opinion that's much worse than being traffics shaped.

My question remains tho instead of changing to sky why are you instead staying with VM and calling for changes to be made to make sky worse? are you on a retention deal?[/QUOTE]

No i am not on a retention deal, i am happy with my service and i get what i pay for and since VM lost Sky basics i receive an overall much more attractive package than i ever did when basics was available. I had Sky years ago and chose Telewest because they were cheaper. Not only are they still cheaper than Sky but i now feel i get an overall better service than Sky.
I'm not saying i want to make Sky worse you are twisting my words i said i feel sky should be regulated and make the market fairer because that improves competition and prices for everyone.

[Mick Fisher]

TVTimes you are a PR person and by continuing to play the same old record I am just taking a leaf from your book.

I don't keep bigging up Sky TV, it's you who keep on bigging up VM TV and I feel I just have to point out the shortcomings of the service.

I'm not going to waste my time remarking on individual points in your post but will just say that if you are happy to receive a bandwidth strapped, second rate, overpriced and behind the times TV service then that's your problem. Just stop exaggerating about a niche channel that mostly does nothing but show decade old repeats of Living and Bravo material.

I see the second series of Hero's starts Thursday on BBC2. Thank goodness a proper channel will be able to broadcast it in it's 16.9 entirety.

Oh! and FYI there's no HD TV here. Just SD on a WS TV. For the amount of HD content available I don't regard it as being worthwhile. Maybe in the future?

[kronas]

Originally Posted by Chrysalis

the sad thing is if sky gets broken up like BT did the consumer will lose out.

well if sky is broken up as the article says then sky will just increase subscriptions at a higher rate or worse increase prices in other areas to compensate for having to deal with seperate entities of the same company, much like bt and its 'payment division'

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

TVTimes you are a PR person and by continuing to play the same old record I am just taking a leaf from your book.

I don't keep bigging up Sky TV, it's you who keep on bigging up VM TV and I feel I just have to point out the shortcomings of the service.

I'm not going to waste my time remarking on individual points in your post but will just say that if you are happy to receive a bandwidth strapped, second rate, overpriced and behind the times TV service then that's your problem. Just stop exaggerating about a niche channel that mostly does nothing but show decade old repeats of Living and Bravo material.

I see the second series of Hero's starts Thursday on BBC2. Thank goodness a proper channel will be able to broadcast it in it's 16.9 entirety.

Oh! and FYI there's no HD TV here. Just SD on a WS TV. For the amount of HD content available I don't regard it as being worthwhile. Maybe in the future?

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

TVTimes you are a PR person and by continuing to play the same old record I am just taking a leaf from your book.

I don't keep bigging up Sky TV, it's you who keep on bigging up VM TV and I feel I just have to point out the shortcomings of the service.

I'm not going to waste my time remarking on individual points in your post but will just say that if you are happy to receive a bandwidth strapped, second rate, overpriced and behind the times TV service then that's your problem. Just stop exaggerating about a niche channel that mostly does nothing but show decade old repeats of Living and Bravo material.

I see the second series of Hero's starts Thursday on BBC2. Thank goodness a proper channel will be able to broadcast it in it's 16.9 entirety.

Oh! and FYI there's no HD TV here. Just SD on a WS TV. For the amount of HD content available I don't regard it as being worthwhile. Maybe in the future?

A PR person? Yeah mate of course i am.
Nearly all of your posts go on and on about widescreen! It's not the end of the world that it's broadcast in 4:3 it won't be forever and it does not affect the programme quality. If you are that picky not to watch a good programme because it's not widescreen that's your problem. You can pick out the short comings all you want, fact is there is very little short comings and the problems it does have is very small.

BB is bandwith strapped you say? Better than be exchange restricted! Only heavy users are affected by STM. I'm a torrent user and am never affected.
Then there is download limits to consider! At least i know i can download as much content i want without running out of an allowance set by my ISP.
Behind the times tv service you say? I would say VOD is much more ahead of it's of time than HD channels well Skys anytime isn't that's a joke! Plus there is enough HD VOD content on there anyway which is always updated regularly.

Stop exaggerating over a niche channel that shows nothing but repeats of Living and Bravo content you say?
Stop bragging over a nice channels that shows repeats of decade old simpsons, malcolm in the middle, futurama, cold case etc! Plus flops such as Journey man that don't even make a second season! They can'd find there own successes so instead they resort to nicking other networks successful programmes like Lost, prison break and 24 and pass them off as their own!
V1 has been launched since November and prime time has been mostly new content! Crime invasion, Death row dogs, the envy series, city in fear, Riches, Chuck, SCC, caribbean cops, Bob the exorcist, Extroadinary humans etc! I could go on!

---------- Post added at 13:35 ---------- Previous post was at 13:20 ----------

Originally Posted by kronas

well if sky is broken up as the article says then sky will just increase subscriptions at a higher rate or worse increase prices in other areas to compensate for having to deal with seperate entities of the same company, much like bt and its 'payment division'

They won't increase prices if they want to remain competitive. They will need to invest in their services and continue make improvements to differentiate themselves from the competition. If they don't and they increase prices then customers will not just accept it and they will walk.

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

BB is bandwith strapped you say? Better than be exchange restricted! Only heavy users are affected by STM. I'm a torrent user and am never affected.

Well I was actually speaking about the TV service but since you mention it the whole network is bandwidth strapped. Nice to hear you are helping with this by your constant uploading. Unless, of course you are a hit and runner.

Originally Posted by tvtimes

Then there is download limits to consider! At least i know i can download as much content i want without running out of an allowance set by my ISP.

Well shortly you will only be able to do that overnight thanks to the new draconian limits being imposed because the network is bandwidth strapped. Hopefully you will remember to turn off your torrents before you leave for work in the morning.

Originally Posted by tvtimes

Behind the times tv service you say? I would say VOD is much more ahead of it's of time than HD channels well Skys anytime isn't that's a joke! Plus there is enough HD VOD content on there anyway which is always updated regularly.

VOD is just like the red button services on Virgin - Extremely iffy.
Yep I reckon it was a good choice on VM's part to pick an old mpeg2 PVR out of SA's bargain bin.
No more HD channels for you in the foreseeable future cause the service is bandwidth strapped.
I fully agree Anytime is a joke. Everybody knows it is. I think I might have mentioned that earlier. If not then in some other thread.

Originally Posted by tvtimes

Stop exaggerating over a niche channel that shows nothing but repeats of Living and Bravo content you say?
Stop bragging over a nice channels that shows repeats of decade old simpsons, malcolm in the middle, futurama, cold case etc! Plus flops such as Journey man that don't even make a second season! They can'd find there own successes so instead they resort to nicking other networks successful programmes like Lost, prison break and 24 and pass them off as their own!
V1 has been launched since November and prime time has been mostly new content! Crime invasion, Death row dogs, the envy series, city in fear, Riches, Chuck, SCC, caribbean cops, Bob the exorcist, Extroadinary humans etc! I could go on!.

See.. there you go again. Promoting V1 against Sky1 with such a manic fervour. Of the two of us you are the only one who cares. Never once have I promoted the Sky1 channel. The only thing I would promote is the Sky TV Platform. I think V1 and Sky1 are both equally crap and pretty much never watch either of them. The difference is only that Sky1 shows A-rated quality crap in 16.9 while V1 shows mostly B-rated crap in 4.3.
Oh dear! I mentioned that V1 is a 4.3 channel again didn't I, tsk, tsk.

[tvtimes]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Well I was actually speaking about the TV service but since you mention it the whole network is bandwidth strapped. Nice to hear you are helping with this by your constant uploading. Unless, of course you are a hit and runner.

The tv is bandwith strapped? Maybe in regards to channels it is but there is plenty of VOD to make up for the loss of channels. Who the hell wants crap like wedding tv and sum tv and wine tv and holiday tv really?! Sky may have more channels but the majority are pure rubbish! I don't want that rubbish clogging up my EPG imagine how long it would take to scan through to find something worth watching! The analogue channels are being turned off and then there will be no further bantwith issues for tv.
Please explain to me how their internet service is bandwith strapped? I get a solid 20meg connection not a problem and there are plenty of other VM customers in the area. I feel sorry for you if you're bandwith strapped but the majority of customers seem happy with their VM bb service i guess that's why over a hundred thousand join every quarter eh?

No i always share torrents i download it's only fair

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Well shortly you will only be able to do that overnight thanks to the new draconian limits being imposed because the network is bandwidth strapped. Hopefully you will remember to turn off your torrents before you leave for work in the morning.

I'll happily say you have lost me on this one? That's the first i have heard of it have you got an proof with a link?
If it was indeed true i'm sure there would be an uproar on other sites regarding VM too. As i said not the net bandwith is not all that strapped and they will soon be upgrading it to 50meg for more than the likes of BT, Sky and co can manage!
You say prices are high for VM bb? That's because they offer stability my friend and like i said there is no exchange issues. Sky can't go round charging for bb that they can not offer guaranteed stability on now can they? Imagine all those customers paying full price for 16meg bb and then only getting 1 meg because of exchange locations!

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

VOD is just like the red button services on Virgin - Extremely iffy.
Yep I reckon it was a good choice on VM's part to pick an old mpeg2 PVR out of SA's bargain bin.
No more HD channels for you in the foreseeable future cause the service is bandwidth strapped.
I fully agree Anytime is a joke. Everybody knows it is. I think I might have mentioned that earlier. If not then in some other thread.

VOD is very much in it's infancy so people are going to have problems but it is hardly all the time.I think i have lost vod twice but in 2 years but a simple reset sorted that one out. No it's not like red button it's far from it that makes me wonder if you have actually used VM vod! It is nothing like red button services, which red button services is it like? When Iplayer launches that will be a soft launch through red button but the rest of the platform is nothing like red button.
You say they chose the poorer PVRs of the two? Well what does that say for Sky+ then? VM chose the worst pvr yet it still beats Sky+ hands down! I don't see Sky+ offering SD upscale, 3 tuners, and HD compatible! Then there is all the VOD library included! I am very happy with my VOD services from VM as are plenty of others who are happy to receive 4,000 hrs of VOD (since the Sky basics removal) and it's constantly increasing, 1,000 music videos included in my package(since the Sky basics removal)HD series of lost, ghost whisperer, mega structures, sopranos etc(since the Sky basics removal) Setanta sports for no extra fee(since the Sky basics removal) Setanta sports news(since the Sky basics removal). I was simply pointing out to another poster that we have seen lots of things since the removal of Sky basics which he suggested we have not.

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

See.. there you go again. Promoting V1 against Sky1 with such a manic fervour. Of the two of us you are the only one who cares. Never once have I promoted the Sky1 channel. The only thing I would promote is the Sky TV Platform. I think V1 and Sky1 are both equally crap and pretty much never watch either of them. The difference is only that Sky1 shows A-rated quality crap in 16.9 while V1 shows mostly B-rated crap in 4.3.
Oh dear! I mentioned that V1 is a 4.3 channel again didn't I, tsk, tsk.

Well that's your opinion. You stated above that V1 is inferior to the likes of Sky one as it still brodcasts in 4:3 instead of widescreen. It is also your opinion that Sky show real quality programmes although you just said in exactly the same paragraph that you thought they were both rubbish, which one is it? Make your mind

So where is this rubbish that you say V1 broadcast and where is the quality that Sky one broadcast? V1 has been here how long? 6 months and already they have shown 3 of the biggest shows to come out of America last year and this year! 2 of which have been renewed and it's looking likely SCC will be renewed too. Then there is all that many, many home grown commissions! I would say V1 is one of the better channels on freeview because it actually shows first run content of new massive shows most of which are normally grabbed for the likes of paytv channels which means freeviewers miss out and have to wait. Where is Sky ones A-rated content again? Oh right Gladiators! A remake of an old ITV show that has well and truly had it's day!
Journey man, wasn't a big hit at all and got canned after 13 eps.
Lost oh that was nicked off Channel 4 so hardly one of Skys own successes. What else is there? Oh yes prison break one of channels 5 so, so successes and since it launched it's new season on Sky one vieweing figures have dropped dramatically. The simpsons, i admit i love the simpsons but they have passed their sell by date and the movie was an all out effort to save the franchise. The past several seasons have been much poorer than that of it's previous seasons and it just seems to have lost it's spark and direction although i admit i still watch it. The only real decent thing to come out of Sky one recently has been Ross Kemp in Afghanistan (that was amazing) and the colour of magic although that didn't go down all that well with the viewers, i liked it.

[tvtimes]

Just to answer my own statement in regards to SCC being renewed. It's been confirmed
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a94...nd-season.html

[Morden]

PR/BR/JR who cares why question any one who doesnt hold your views, life is like that some like coffee, others Tea get over it ?

Or as Harry Hill says whos best Virgin Or Sky, there's only one way to find out fight.

Que person dressed up in Virgin Logo Fights Person dressed up in Sky logo.

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by tvtimes

I'll happily say you have lost me on this one? That's the first i have heard of it have you got an proof with a link?
If it was indeed true i'm sure there would be an uproar on other sites regarding VM too. As i said not the net bandwith is not all that strapped and they will soon be upgrading it to 50meg for more than the likes of BT, Sky and co can manage!
You say prices are high for VM bb? That's because they offer stability my friend and like i said there is no exchange issues. Sky can't go round charging for bb that they can not offer guaranteed stability on now can they? Imagine all those customers paying full price for 16meg bb and then only getting 1 meg because of exchange locations!

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/12...statement.html
Tvtimes you seem to be so un-informed I sincerely doubt the wisdom of continuing to try to debate these self evident truths with you.

Remember ignorance is never a defence.

[the-cable-guy]

lol