SD : Could Virgin lose the right to offer Sky Sports 1 & 2?

[denphone]

Perhaps he has one of those dodgy crystal balls.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

That sounds a great business plan come to our platform then subscribe direct to Sky , where do you think these up.

Well, judging by many recent posts on this forum, people are seriously contemplating jumping ship anyway. Offering a large range of content via Sky, Netflix, Amazon, etc, coupled with Virgin's own exclusive mix of channels could stem the flow and actually encourage subscribers to the platform.

Only last year, people were ecstatic that VM had made great strides in providing us with so many missing channels, and yet this year, despondency has set in and people seem to be about to leave in their droves. Public opinion and technology are moving at a fast pace in this industry.

It is urgent that VM re-think their TV offerings or they will lose a lot of business unnecessarily. The strategy to ditch content to appease Sky has not worked as well as was expected IMHO and an alternative needs to be dreamt up without delay.

Some may scoff at my vision of the future, but remember that John Malone is on record as saying that content can be acquired from many different sources without having to own it yourself. My observations are completely in line with that way of thinking.

---------- Post added at 10:05 ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 ----------

Originally Posted by denphone

Perhaps he has one of those dodgy crystal balls.

My balls are remarkably clear, Den

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

But what is happening now may be a lot different from what will happen in the future.

VM do not make a lot of profit from showing Sky channels, particularly the premium channels. Given the protests over the cost of VM TV, I suspect there will be a change of strategy in the future. VM subscribers to their television packages may well find themselves subscribing direct to Sky via Now TV, with an alternative option available which will include Liberty Global exclusives, such as those available from all3media, which is owned by John Malone's Liberty Global.

http://www.all3media.com/Content/CompaniesPageLan.html

If anything VM would be more likely to pull out of the tv market than allow nowtv on their devices.
Tbh though mate just get a ROKU box it has nowtv on it, netflix, amazon instant video it is much faster and stabler than the clinky tivo and cheaper too if you think about it.

[nialli]

I think there are three main things responsible for the despondency with the Virgin TV offering:
1. Price rises, including the mandatory one for XL customers regardless of whether we wanted BT Europe or not. News of yet another rise early in 2016 is hugely unpopular (see the poll on VMHD).
2. TiVo looking distinctly last decade now, with overall performance still laughably slow and Apps increasingly unreliable; iPlayer, YouTube and Netflix all still have issues.
3. Now TV now a reliable and cheaper option, offering pay per view Sky Sports and movies when you want them, rather than tying you into a minimum of a year's contract. Also it has the missing ITV Encore, Sky Atlantic, and with Sky box sets and on demand content it makes the VM TV offering overpriced and underwhelming by comparison.
I'm on Big Kahuna until February but will downsize sooner if I get the chance. I don't use the home phone line nor do I watch over 200 of the channels I pay for.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by theone2k10

If anything VM would be more likely to pull out of the tv market than allow nowtv on their devices.
Tbh though mate just get a ROKU box it has nowtv on it, netflix, amazon instant video it is much faster and stabler than the clinky tivo and cheaper too if you think about it.

I have a Roku stick already, theone, and I concur with you that Roku is a good way to go.

But this doesn't mean that VM have to stick with their current way of doing things, which is not working - they are falling behind.

They need a new, updated and fast box and they need as many streaming services as they can muster. I don't believe that there is the reticence at VM to embrace the Now TV app on the Tivo as some are suggesting. VM know that the absence of Sky Atlantic is a big problem for them, and this is probably the best way of bringing that channel to VM subscribers.

---------- Post added at 12:20 ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 ----------

Originally Posted by nialli

I think there are three main things responsible for the despondency with the Virgin TV offering:
1. Price rises, including the mandatory one for XL customers regardless of whether we wanted BT Europe or not. News of yet another rise early in 2016 is hugely unpopular (see the poll on VMHD).
2. TiVo looking distinctly last decade now, with overall performance still laughably slow and Apps increasingly unreliable; iPlayer, YouTube and Netflix all still have issues.
3. Now TV now a reliable and cheaper option, offering pay per view Sky Sports and movies when you want them, rather than tying you into a minimum of a year's contract. Also it has the missing ITV Encore, Sky Atlantic, and with Sky box sets and on demand content it makes the VM TV offering overpriced and underwhelming by comparison.
I'm on Big Kahuna until February but will downsize sooner if I get the chance. I don't use the home phone line nor do I watch over 200 of the channels I pay for.

I don't disagree with your sentiments, Nialli, which is why I believe that VM need to think (to some people's minds) the unthinkable.

[nialli]

Another price rise will make customers evaluate their options and, frankly, there are much better and cheaper alternatives out there now. It's no longer "Sky or Virgin" - TV has moved on, just not at Virgin.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by nialli

Another price rise will make customers evaluate their options and, frankly, there are much better and cheaper alternatives out there now. It's no longer "Sky or Virgin" - TV has moved on, just not at Virgin.

True, I received a letter today that said my package is increasing by £5 per month in return for absolutely nothing as far as I can tell. They're taking the urine now and I will certainly be considering my options.

[Mad Max]

3. Now TV now a reliable and cheaper option, offering pay per view Sky Sports and movies when you want them

This is all very well, but if you are a sports fan and have been used to watching your sport in HD, and lets face it sport really shows the benefits of an HD broadcast, then it's a big step backwards in PQ having to watch it in SD, so that would be a no no for me for a start, and probably many other people too.

[denphone]

Their picture quality is crap pure and simple.

[vincerooney]

Short answer to this question: no. Virgin media and sky are not at war. Virgin media is a kitten currently rolling on its back and wanting dominant companies to scratch it's belly. Sky have the advantage over Virgin media due to the fact virgin media don't care whatsoever about their tv packages. They haven't got Atlantic. They're not prepared to pay for Atlantic. Yet keep putting prices up.

Sky know virgin medias game. Maximise profits to sell ASAP. To withhold sky sports to a non threatening organisation like virgin media would be suicide since virgin media are not a threat whatsoever. There will always be some people who will never go to sky and get a satellite dish. Sky created now tv for people like that.

We are completely irrelevant to sky. Sky need help paying off the huge EPL bill. No chance this will happen.

If it does I'll strip naked for this forum whilst quacking like a duck

[nialli]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

Short answer to this question: no. Virgin media and sky are not at war. Virgin media is a kitten currently rolling on its back and wanting dominant companies to scratch it's belly. Sky have the advantage over Virgin media due to the fact virgin media don't care whatsoever about their tv packages. They haven't got Atlantic. They're not prepared to pay for Atlantic. Yet keep putting prices up.

Sky know virgin medias game. Maximise profits to sell ASAP. To withhold sky sports to a non threatening organisation like virgin media would be suicide since virgin media are not a threat whatsoever. There will always be some people who will never go to sky and get a satellite dish. Sky created now tv for people like that.

We are completely irrelevant to sky. Sky need help paying off the huge EPL bill. No chance this will happen.

If it does I'll strip naked for this forum whilst quacking like a duck

Well said.
I think Now TV is a masterstroke and the only thing that can hold it back is Sky getting over-protective about its core satellite revenues. If they keep the pricing reasonable, make the right level of back-end investment and take the streaming channels at least to 720p it has the potential to be a considerable player in the years ahead.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

Short answer to this question: no. Virgin media and sky are not at war. Virgin media is a kitten currently rolling on its back and wanting dominant companies to scratch it's belly. Sky have the advantage over Virgin media due to the fact virgin media don't care whatsoever about their tv packages. They haven't got Atlantic. They're not prepared to pay for Atlantic. Yet keep putting prices up.

Sky know virgin medias game. Maximise profits to sell ASAP. To withhold sky sports to a non threatening organisation like virgin media would be suicide since virgin media are not a threat whatsoever. There will always be some people who will never go to sky and get a satellite dish. Sky created now tv for people like that.

We are completely irrelevant to sky. Sky need help paying off the huge EPL bill. No chance this will happen.

If it does I'll strip naked for this forum whilst quacking like a duck

l remember some wise venerable old boy saying he would eat his hat if BT Sport arrived on the XL pack so its unwise Vince to make pledges somehow you might find hard to keep on this forum.

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by denphone

l remember some wise venerable old boy saying he would eat his hat if BT Sport arrived on the XL pack so its unwise Vince to make pledges somehow you might find hard to keep on this forum.

I seem to recall a member having to eat their underpants a while ago.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by nialli

Well said.
I think Now TV is a masterstroke and the only thing that can hold it back is Sky getting over-protective about its core satellite revenues. If they keep the pricing reasonable, make the right level of back-end investment and take the streaming channels at least to 720p it has the potential to be a considerable player in the years ahead.

I don't think Sky or VM's current way of bundling channels is sustainable long term.

VM once led the market with On Demand , now you could argue they're playing catch up with the rest.

[denphone]

Can you tell us why you think that MM?.