General : £3 TV increase but BT Sport Europe is "free"

[cityfan247]

Obviously as a sports and football fan i am pleased to be getting BT Europe with Champions League and Europa League in HD for a modest cost. Certainly cheaper than what i thought i would have to fork out.

Whilst i can see non sports fan not being too chuffed XL has increased in price due to this this was probably the most cost effective way to get the channel onto VM and minimise cost.

There are plenty of channels in XL I rarely if ever watch but I accept they are part of the package i pay for. You could argue my sub (and other sports fans subs) contributes to other peoples viewing as well. Bit of swings and roundabouts.

If you get into the argument i dont watch this channel in my pack or that channel so why should i pay for it then the whole thing breaks down. It all get fragmented, the buying power diminishes and it becomes more costly provide channels.

End result we all end up paying even more.

[Taf]

After looking at the channel lists for L and XL, if I was able to pick and choose my own channel list there would be a lot of rejects.

But they have me over a barrel with this price increase (blatantly obviously to add the BT sport channel that I would never watch) because most of the channels I do watch are exclusive to XL.

And I reckon they know this.

[theone2k10]

Not vm related but plusnet just announced all their tv customers will get bt sport lite free of charge which is btsport1 and bt sport extra, to get the other bt sport it is £5p/m not a bad deal considering their tv pack is only £5p/m anyway.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by cityfan247

There are plenty of channels in XL I rarely if ever watch but I accept they are part of the package i pay for. You could argue my sub (and other sports fans subs) contributes to other peoples viewing as well. Bit of swings and roundabouts.

If you get into the argument i dont watch this channel in my pack or that channel so why should i pay for it then the whole thing breaks down. It all get fragmented, the buying power diminishes and it becomes more costly provide channels.

.

Why are some people finding it difficult to grasp the difference between Premium channels and standard channels?

[steveh]

Originally Posted by cityfan247

There are plenty of channels in XL I rarely if ever watch but I accept they are part of the package i pay for. You could argue my sub (and other sports fans subs) contributes to other peoples viewing as well. Bit of swings and roundabouts.

I've always taken that view in the past. Perception-wise though, back in the days when I watched maybe 10 channels out of 60 it seemed a better deal than when now watching 10 out of 230.

Then there's the price compared to the newer entrants - £396 a year when £79 for Amazon Prime, £72 for Netflix and £84 for Now TV's entertainment pack give you more of the programmes you want to watch.

[Taf]

The mighty readership of this blog has voted on the addition of BT Sports Europe to the XL TV package for a mandatory £3 for ALL customers - and you are most definitely not happy.

394 votes were cast in the poll I ran after it was announced that another sports channel was arriving but it was going to cost all customers on Virgin's top telly tier more, regardless of whether they wanted it or not. 68% said they were unhappy, 9% weren't particularly bothered one way or the other and less than a quarter were happy.

I don't think anyone's unhappy to see additional HD channels on cable, but clearly it's prospect of yet another price increase, and this one for a specialist (albeit probably popular) channel, that is the problem. And it sets a dangerous precedent: if Virgin starts bundling other specialist channels into its bundles and charging for the privilege, many customers will vote with their wallets and quit.

I like the Champions League and for me the new deal is good value. But if had been, say Sky Sports F1 I was being charged for I would have been seriously unhappy. I have no interest in F1 so why should I pay for it?

Virgin has most likely done the deal so that it can market the cost of BT's Europe channel as cheaper than Sky (simply by making sure all top tier customers fund it, not just those that sign up specifically for it) but that's not fair to many, many customers.

I think the days of channel bundling are numbered, especially as the noise of cord cutting gets louder, so is this is the latest evolution of the principle of bundling (i.e. us paying through the nose for channels we don't watch) or is the start of the desperate death throes of an outdmoded pricing model?

http://vmhd.blogspot.co.uk/

---------- Post added at 18:32 ---------- Previous post was at 18:31 ----------

If you're unhappy...
...at the prospect of having to pay £3 more a month for XL TV for a sports channel you don't want, check out the footnote note of the email Virgin is sending to all XL customers:

We really hope you want to continue enjoying all the unmissable sport and top TV heading your way in your bigger, better TV XL package. But if you wish to, you can cancel or change your package at any time before 31 August 2015 without paying any cancellation fees, by visiting virginmedia.com/biggerbetter for more information.

Some VMHD readers have reported that they've been told they don't have to pay the £3 if they don't want the Sports Europe channel, but when I asked VM about this I got the following response:

"Do XL customers have to pay £3 extra if Sept if they don't want more BT Sport?"

"That is the case I'm afraid. We did our research and we know our XL customers enjoy watching sports, we’ve worked hard to keep costs down. If your price is impacted you’ll receive a letter or email explaining any contract terms. It depends on your package. You can also give us a call on 150/0345 454 1111 and we'll look at what we can do to help."

http://vmhd.blogspot.co.uk/

---------- Post added at 18:35 ---------- Previous post was at 18:32 ----------

I was simply told "like it of lump it" but not in so many words.

We did our research and we know our XL customers enjoy watching sports

68% said they were unhappy (with paying for something they won't watch)

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by passingbat

Why are some people finding it difficult to grasp the difference between Premium channels and standard channels?

Most of us do appreciate that distinction, but it is an artificial one.

It's all pay TV, after all.

[Skie]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

It's all pay TV, after all.

And yet they still have 'fricken adverts.

[Mr K]

A deal was very quickly offered when I rang up.

Was paying £46.50 (plus LR) for TV XL, 50MB BB, M Phone, Tivo plus extra VHD box. Was offered the same package plus an increase to 100MB for £43.50 (plus LR) which includes the price rise. So a £3 decrease rather than increase plus a BB increase.

[KenK]

I changed from TV XL to L and reduced the package charge by ~£18. I was offered a reduction of ~£7 to stay on XL. I'm glad I phoned!

[pengedragon]

Definitely worth a call if people are unhappy, seems to be some good deals being offered

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by KenK

I changed from TV XL to L and reduced the package charge by ~£18. I was offered a reduction of ~£7 to stay on XL. I'm glad I phoned!

tbh I would have downgraded from XL to L or M+ when I renegototiated as i'm not interested in TV football. However I'm getting my extra VHD box for 'free' as part of the deal when i upgrade to Tivo, however that was on condition I was on the XL package. Guess i'd have to pay for the extra box if I downgraded.

[Dave_Gosport]

I just phone to see if I could get a better deal. I'm currently paying £59.99 a month for XL TV, XXL BB, and basic phone line which I never use.

They couldn't really offer me much as in lowering my monthly bill but was offered to downgrade my XXL broadband to 100mg for 50p a month more and they were going to throw in a "selection" (NOT all) of the movie channels free for 6 months.

Has anyone else been offered this?

I said I'll think about it and call back as I'm rubbish at haggling lol

[pengedragon]

That seems an odd one!

[Chad]

For those thinking about downgrading or switching TV provider, Money Saving Expert and SKY have teamed up offering some great TV and broadband deals:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/br...tch/#/#bundle6

All-in' Sky TV for £17.25 per month. Comprising a free Sky+ HD box, free Family bundle & Sky Go Extra, and half-price Sky Sports & Movies. For HD Sports & Movies, add £5.25 month.

That's cheaper than Virgin Media's More TV, pretty much Freeview with SKY basic channels, with a TiVo box!