Drop ESPN programming from XL package?

[howardmicks]

Cant believe people are even suggesting this,Its got to be a big selling point for vm especially xl.Its £9 with sky,I personally think vm should try to continue to do this very long term as i believe once premership is up for renewal espn will strike a blow at sky and the fact that it is included with xl it will put vm back in a very strong position over sky and were gonna need it if murdoch(greedy git) takes over sky

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by howardmicks

Cant believe people are even suggesting this,Its got to be a big selling point for vm especially xl.Its £9 with sky,I personally think vm should try to continue to do this very long term as i believe once premership is up for renewal espn will strike a blow at sky and the fact that it is included with xl it will put vm back in a very strong position over sky and were gonna need it if murdoch(greedy git) takes over sky

It is a strong selling pont I agree, but only if you want ESPN. They are very wisely building up a brand a reputation in the UK, as big as they are in the US they didn't mean too much to most of us here prior to obtainng EPL rights.

Some people would prefer a wider choice a general HD channels in a general TV package and it dosen't look like we are going to get that.

Horses for courses, nevertheless I completely agree XL is very good value though, no doubt about that.

One sidenote though, if ESPN were lucky enough to get more EPL packages in future, which is highly likely, do you think ESPN would continue to be in XL?

Setanta tried that and went bust. If ESPN do indeed only get £1 from XL customers, which I personally doubt, that dosen't add up to me.

[weesteev]

Originally Posted by Chad

When I moved into my flat in 2007 the main reason I got Virgin was because of Setanta Sports being included in XL. When Setanta closed I was gutted however Virgin added ESPN HD, I was delighted.

My brother, dad and my father-in-law all left SKY and joined Virgin because ESPN was included. My brother and father-in-law now have VIP50 plus a Virgin mobile.

ESPN being included is a very unique selling point which SKY would NEVER think of offering their customers. ESPN HD is a valuable channel to me. If Virgin dropped it from XL and in return gave me ITV2 HD, ITV3 HD, ITV4 HD and SKY Atlantic HD in return I'd be well hacked off.

I'd prefer if Virgin dropped TV choice and music-on-demand from XL and offer more linear channels as I never watch anything other than catch-up TV. There's probably plenty of things that could be removed from XL to accommodate new channels.

The truth of the matter is, if Virgin aren't delivering the TV you want or expect then it's time to move to another supplier. I'd love access to all HD channels, and could go to SKY however Virgins overall TV experience to me outweighs what SKY has to offer.

I think this sums it all up pretty well!

Originally Posted by Maggy J

And what new channels were you thinking of.
I already get 165 channels including ESPN which keeps hubby sweet..what else do you think is missing?

If you are suggesting Sky Atlantic I don't want it.I'd rather there was some sport that I don't have to pay through the nose for..which is why I don't have Sky Sports.

I agree with ESPN part of the XL tv pack at least those that want to see some premiership football get to do so without paying sky sports through the nose and in HD as well also included in the XL sub.

Personally i think virgin will add more HD anyway without the need not to take ESPN off the XL tv pack eventually. As a working person just how much tv can anyone watch i certainly cannot watch all the tv i have at the moment so a lot more channels (sky arts HD excepted)would mean even more channels i do not have time for,i personally do not watch any of the music channels either at all these days so to me they are a waste of my money however i would not advocate getting rid of as i know a lot of people may watch them.

Anyway a look at the poll above suggests a lot of people value ESPN in the XL tv pack.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by richard1960

I agree with ESPN part of the XL tv pack at least those that want to see some premiership football get to do so without paying sky sports through the nose and in HD as well also included in the XL sub.

Personally i think virgin will add more HD anyway without the need not to take ESPN off the XL tv pack eventually. As a working person just how much tv can anyone watch i certainly cannot watch all the tv i have at the moment so a lot more channels (sky arts HD excepted)would mean even more channels i do not have time for,i personally do not watch any of the music channels either at all these days so to me they are a waste of my money however i would not advocate getting rid of as i know a lot of people may watch them.

Anyway a look at the poll above suggests a lot of people value ESPN in the XL tv pack.

I don't think anyone was suggesting getting rid of any channels, rather perhaps just having a debate on the way the channels are packaged. At least I was and thats what we have done, the results of the poll don't lie. Another consideration was paying extra for HD, it isn't cheap and you get what you pay for.

It's just to me XL is supposedly a package of general entertainment and it's very good indeed. It just that personally it includes too much expensive content that personally we simply do not require and I feel it provides inclusive premium content like ESPN at the expense of general HD content however I am a democrat, I totally accept what most people want and that seems to be the status quo so as has been said maybe it's time for me to leave or at least change my package.

But sadly given my conversation with the CEO's office I lost confidence, rumours can be bandied around but from the horses mouth it wouldn't appear that there will be many new additions in the near future. True Enterainment merely swapping with another of it's channels was a nod in that direction for me. And I hate to bang on about it but Sky Arts HD wasn't a rumour, VM actually said it was joining and now they have changed their mind which is fair enough as things change, it is just a shame I had to ask the CEO to find out.

Unless I completely misunderstood the guy, I hope I did but I doubt it. But given all this lord knows how VM are planning on having 80 HD channels in less than three years, to me it simply dosen't add up but I hope i'm wrong.

[freeair]

Don't you dare drop ESPN from the XL package.
I couldn't care less about over paid prima donnas kicking a bag of wind about on a bit of grass, I'm sure that 'entertainment' is available elsewhere.
I only watch ESPN for American drag racing which, AFAIK is NOT available elsewhere.

Originally Posted by mersey70

I don't think anyone was suggesting getting rid of any channels, rather perhaps just having a debate on the way the channels are packaged. At least I was and thats what we have done, the results of the poll don't lie. Another consideration was paying extra for HD, it isn't cheap and you get what you pay for.

It's just to me XL is supposedly a package of general entertainment and it's very good indeed. It just that personally it includes too much expensive content that personally we simply do not require and I feel it provides inclusive premium content like ESPN at the expense of general HD content however I am a democrat, I totally accept what most people want and that seems to be the status quo so as has been said maybe it's time for me to leave or at least change my package.

But sadly given my conversation with the CEO's office I lost confidence, rumours can be bandied around but from the horses mouth it wouldn't appear that there will be many new additions in the near future. True Enterainment merely swapping with another of it's channels was a nod in that direction for me. And I hate to bang on about it but Sky Arts HD wasn't a rumour, VM actually said it was joining and now they have changed their mind which is fair enough as things change, it is just a shame I had to ask the CEO to find out.

Unless I completely misunderstood the guy, I hope I did but I doubt it. But given all this lord knows how VM are planning on having 80 HD channels in less than three years, to me it simply dosen't add up but I hope i'm wrong.

No you were completely right to ask for a debate on the way the channels are packaged mersey70 no problems there, the thing we probably would agree on info from virgin media is pretty poor ie they led everyone to believe sky arts HD was "coming soon" and then after changed their mind without feeling the need to inform customers,and perhaps they could repackage the channels a little more into packs but the way vm have to buy in the channels suggests this might be difficult to do and they adopt a "one size fits all" approach.

I believe ESPN costs vm around £3 per subscriber i think or around that figure not sure how many HD channels vm would get access to for that even if they could negotiate deals.

Yes would agree that 80 HD channels in less then 3 years does sound a bit optimistic given the sky arts HD fiasco,but there you have it generally i am pleased with my package but not vms lack of communication as regards anything,thank goodness for Digital Fanatic/masque ect on here.

[The Yank]

NO - having ESPN as part of the XL package is the best thing ever. My subs already are over £100/mo and I don't wish to increase them just for HD content. I am happy the way it is thank you. I am not saying don't add HD channels to the package though. VM know they must do this just to stay competitive. If they don't Uncle 'R' will be rubbing his hands together (even more).

[mersey70]

Anyway for me personally the problem is sorted.

Catch Up is vital for us but someone on here insisted you have to have M+ as a minimum now but that isn't right (maybe that is just for new customers). I can have just M so I will continue to get Catch Up, I just have to keep L broadband which is no problem whatsoever and the price is just fine. Skys OD offer dosen't overly appeal to us anyway so not getting their broadband is no great shakes, we might not even bother with a conventional landline but we'll see.

I'll just get Sky and a couple of packs and add HD and get those specific channels we miss, it's a few quid dearer but a happy compromise, and obviously from my posts we dont really need ESPN so it's sorted!

She did say Sky Arts HD is still in the pipeline though as is Sky Classics HD but it's gone on a bit too long for me now.

Happy chap.

Originally Posted by mersey70

Anyway for me personally the problem is sorted.

Catch Up is vital for us but someone on here insisted you have to have M+ as a minimum now but that isn't right. I can have just M so I will continue to get Catch Up, I just have to keep L broadband which is no problem whatsoever and the price is just fine. Skys OD offer dosen't overly appeal to us anyway so not getting their broadband is no great shakes, we might not even bother with a conventional landline but we'll see.

I'll just get Sky and a couple of packs and add HD and get those specific channels we miss, it's a few quid dearer but a happy compromise, and obviously from my posts we dont really need ESPN so it's sorted!

She did say Sky Arts HD is still in the pipeline though as is Sky Classics HD but it's gone on a bit too long for me now.

Happy chap.

Cannot say i blame you mersey70 as the sky arts HD "coming soon" thing has gone on for an absolute age.! No sky for me though as its not available in my area even if i wanted.

[muppetman11]

Must admit Mersey70 I was thinking of going back to Sky for my TV but keeping M retention deal , but I'm going to give VM a year see how things pan out and I'm now convinced to give TIVO a whirl after reading the Pocket Lint review , I'm just hoping we see more HD as I hate watching SD, must admit TIVO was pretty good when I tried it in the VM shop and that particular box didn't seem to sluggish.

What put me off going back to the darkside was 0844 calls to CS , two tuner and a lot of problems with glitches on the current Sky+HD software.

[Rattus]

I just wish ESPN would sort it's schedule out.. Every week the NBA seems to over run, even with 5 mins padding it misses the last minute of the games (which can last for a long time).. It can't be that hard to work out!

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Must admit Mersey70 I was thinking of going back to Sky for my TV but keeping M retention deal , but I'm going to give VM a year see how things pan out and I'm now convinced to give TIVO a whirl after reading the Pocket Lint review , I'm just hoping we see more HD as I hate watching SD, must admit TIVO was pretty good when I tried it in the VM shop and that particular box didn't seem to sluggish.

What put me off going back to the darkside was 0844 calls to CS , two tuner and a lot of problems with glitches on the current Sky+HD software.

Trust me I have absolutely no huge desire to be a direct Sky customer, none whatsoever. When I found out the tricks they are pulling with Tivo it infuriated me. HD has only become an issue for us since we got a 46" TV at christmas, before that I wasn't that impressed with it.

However you have to spend your hard earned in a way that suits your family needs and I reckon this is a decent compromise.

It's never really been about cost, it's merely the lack of flexibility with Virgin's TV and it will be nice to have a bit more control on what channels we get, that's all.

I am delighted we will still be VM customer's though, that softens the blow of giving Sky money direct!

By the way the 0844 calls to Sky are free from a Sky line, and remember if you don't have a VM line the calls to them are 0845 numbers too!

[muppetman11]

Plus if I leave who would torment DF LOL .

[ncfc1902]

ESPN/ESPN HD being in XL TV package is one of the advantages VM has of Sky. If you want ESPN as a premium channel get Sky! It will cost you extra on there. One of the reasons I keep XL TV is ESPN, Otherwise i would consider Freesat or Freeview for my main TV viewing.