Sky Atlantic, Red button, Sports 3&4(HD), Sky 3D

If you are a Sky subscriber, don't you have to pay £10.25 per month to access the HD versions of packs you are on?

[Horace]

I can't see the demand or urgency to allocate bandwidth to either of the news channels in HD, Sky Arts could possibly merit it but I doubt the viewing figures for the SD versions are large enough either. Somehow I doubt any of those channels would be particularly expensive to carry in HD so the logically the reason has to be technical.

[HDFootyMan]

Originally Posted by Chartwell

VM have the option to not respond - and perhaps it is slightly patronising, but when a company takes seven months to deliver on its promises, perhaps stakeholders are entitled to be somewhat frustrated, as VM could be seen as holding customers in contempt by saying one thing and not delivering.



VM said in their press release the wholesale agreement covered any of Sky's basic HD channels. As for SD, they claim a wholesale agreement for Sky's basic channel line-up, of which Sky Atlantic is about to be one of them.

As I intimated, perhaps VM thought any meant any, and the basic line-up meant the basic line-up, but their lawyers ballsed up and it doesn't mean anything of the sort.

How can one define the worth of a deal which involves a channel and related content which doesn't exist yet? Sure, Sky knew SA was coming, but their under no obligation to tell VM about it.

Sky know that the TV content gap between them and VM is closing (partly thanks to the latest deal) so......this was always going to happen. I didn't expect SSN HD or Sky News HD on Cable anytime soon (they weren't even mentioned in VM's press releases by name) and I didn't expect SA either in any definition.

However (and I should have said this eariler), I agree with the rest of your letter wholeheartedly. I watching SS1 now and it would be nice if I could press red and select a match. Ho-Hum, I've have to settle for Chelsea screwing up....again.

[mersey70]

I think the OP, as a paying customer has every right to ask all of those questions, to be frank the tone is no better or worse than some of my dealings with VM's call centre staff. I probably wouldn't have typed in red but if that means they don't reply, which I am sure it dosen't, it really says a lot about VM. I thought VM love red anyway, they are always sending me garish emails plastered in red!

However Berkett's office are the only people at VM I have found to be fully competent in sorting things out so I have no doubt they will answer the email even if the OP, and us, don't like the answer.

The only real gripe I have is regarding Sky Arts HD as VM actually said it was coming soon, they never said the other channels were and it simply isn't good enough to still be waiting around 6 months later. They shouldn't say these things if they cannot deliver them in a timely fashion, or at least update people with a reason for the delay.

[denphone]

l will never go to Sky but l agree totally with the questions that need to be answered by Virgin, so far we have been waiting 7 months and still nothing has happened with regards to what has been mentioned in the original question, people are not happy and Virgin need to understand this or else they will lose customers in the end.

Originally Posted by mersey70

I think the OP, as a paying customer has every right to ask all of those questions, to be frank the tone is no better or worse than some of my dealings with VM's call centre staff. I probably wouldn't have typed in red but if that means they don't reply, which I am sure it dosen't, it really says a lot about VM. I thought VM love red anyway, they are always sending me garish emails plastered in red!

However Berkett's office are the only people at VM I have found to be fully competent in sorting things out so I have no doubt they will answer the email even if the OP, and us, don't like the answer.

The only real gripe I have is regarding Sky Arts HD as VM actually said it was coming soon, they never said the other channels were and it simply isn't good enough to still be waiting around 6 months later. They shouldn't say these things if they cannot deliver them in a timely fashion, or at least update people with a reason for the delay.

Which comes back to my point in the Tivo thread about managing expectations. VM need to learn that it is better not to promise something that really isn't coming soon. As for VM call centre staff, I have only ever found them polite and helpful. The only thing I can say against them is the indian call centres sometimes take longer to sort something than the UK staff and are perhaps over polite.

[alwaysabear]

I think the OP has every right to ask the questions of Virgin, he/she is a paying customer who has been promised much ,but so little delivered in 7 months!
VM are terrible at communicating with there customers about this sort of thing, surely they can update there customers on something they promised 7 months ago?

[nialli]

In my experience with Mr Berkett's office, it's more likely to get a response if you print it out and post it - email can be a bit hit and miss.
I'm surprised the much-lauded contracts with Sky were so loose that they allowed Sky to close so quickly a majority of the VM channels and launch a "new" channel in their place that they could withhold. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that the rebranding of Living hasn't led to that being denied us too. The whole deal now looks like a big con for VM customers - thank god we got Sky 1 HD. I don't expect to see the other Sky basics in HD coming our way any time soon now.
So no more Bravo, Bravo+1, Bravo 2, Channel One, Channel One+1, Challenge Jackpot - and nothing to compensate, whereas Sky customers get Atlantic. If I'd passed a contract through my office that was so open to abuse by the other party I'd be hung, drawn and quartered

[whizzard]

Like many of the above issues, most likely due to "feet dragging" on Sky's part. Last I heard of the Sports Interactive red button content is that it it should finally emerge early this year.

[medic boy]

I think vm need to be upfront and tell us why these channels have not started broadcasting on their platform. i believe they got a crap deal which looked good on the main points but the small print said different. if i was one of the negotiators i would hang my head in shame and quit , but they won't do that. as for the channels that were sold to sky, it seemed everybody apart from the negotiators knew that sky would shut most down soon after buying them. the wait between the announcement of these channels and actually getting them is terrible, if the bbc did this there would be outrage, could you imagine them telling us that doctor who is coming soon and then not screening it till 9 months later. you never know vm might surprise us with a big announcement saying these channels will be starting soon, again!!!!!!!!!!

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by whizzard

Like many of the above issues, most likely due to "feet dragging" on Sky's part. Last I heard of the Sports Interactive red button content is that it it should finally emerge early this year.

It amazes me that so many VM customers automatically assume that so many problems are caused by Sky. I am sure they are not the easiest people to deal with but they can't cause everything.

I have read, whether it's true or not, that VM are carrying out upgrades to facilitate the red button and this seems a far more logical reason for any delay given the time they seem to take on pretty much everything they do. It was VM themselves who announced months ago that red button access was part of the VMtv sale. And remember free caller ID from February 2011?, that has been canned because of 'technical problems'.

This is a sidenote but I got an email from VM in November 2010 informing me of the upgrade to upload speeds, which is great. The trouble is, for me at least, is when I enquired when I can expect the upgrade I was told it would be in August 2011. Perhaps it would be better to tell me personally a bit nearer the time instead of 9 months before I am getting it.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I think the OP has every right to ask the questions of Virgin,

And they have every right not to respond. I hope they do respond to be honest

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Sirius

And they have every right not to respond. I hope they do respond to be honest

Why do you think they have every right not to respond to a paying customer raising concerns?

Genuine question, I'm just interested.

[Sirius]

Originally Posted by mersey 70

Why do you think they have every right not to respond to a paying customer raising concerns?

Genuine question, I'm just interested.

Because if its commercially sensitive information that they do not want to release.

Believe me i am with you on this i would like to see the answers to, However if any of those questions are deemed as commercially sensitive then i think they will not respond and have a right not to if there is valid reasons

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Sirius

Because if its commercially sensitive information that they do not want to release.

Believe me i am with you on this i would like to see the answers to, However if any of those questions are deemed as commercially sensitive then i think they will not respond and have a right not to if there is valid reasons

They can still respond though if only to confirm that they cannot answer those questions which of course is fair enough if they have a valid reason.