Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2011) Vol. I.

[alwaysabear]

Originally Posted by HDFootyMan

So.....from 1 to 26 HD channels; All VOD services from terrestrial broadcasters (the only platform who can make that claim); Sky 1 HD; Sky Sports HD; Sky Red Button; Sky VOD content; World-class PVR exclusive UK rollout; TiVo STB unification over the next few years; Film 4 HD exclusive; TV network unification; Analogue switch-off completion; NGTV rollout completion; Network/TV service availability expansion and 80 HD channels within the next 3 years is 'no hint of improvement' and anyone who thinks otherwise is 'deluded'?



OK, sure.

People need to get some perspective here - Sky's marketing budget is more than what ITV spends on making programmes.

And people really think that Virgin can seriously take on Sky for Pay TV content? Seriously? Its a war that Virgin can't win, against a competitor with deep pockets and almost 100% potential customer coverage of the UK compared to Virgin's....what, 53%?

Virgin are right to focus on delivering content. Loads of cable companies worldwide do that and many of them are doing just fine.

Content exactly that is what people are asking for. Where did you get 80 HD channels from I have never seen that figure mentioned?

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

Content exactly that is what people are asking for. Where did you get 80 HD channels from I have never seen that figure mentioned?

I have seen that. I think it was in a financial results conference.

If you read the article properly (not aimed at you alwaysabear) then Neil goes on to champion the beginnings of TiVo on VM.

His vision is about the digital world of broadband connected tv (TiVo) , not trying to compete for Sky's customer base.

The headline is grabbing, but very misleading.

Not long ago, it was a race to attract the most pay-TV customers – until that is, the realisation that fighting to attract Sky's loyal customer base was near impossible. Virgin has 3.8m customers; BSkyB has just topped 10m.
Speak to Jeremy Darroch, BSkyB's chief executive, and it is almost all about television, from HD and 3D take-up to hit US shows from Boardwalk Empire to Mad Men.
Berkett's world is distinctly less Hollywood. Today's Virgin Media is all about the digital experience and Berkett often points to Virgin's advantage over BSkyB and BT in "connectivity", his way of describing the benefits of super-fast broadband.
In Berkett's world, there is no such thing as television. TV is simply part of the digital mix, where computers, mobiles and a host of other devices

Superior it may be, but the high speeds are just an enabler. What is "game-changing", says Berkett, is Virgin Media's new internet-enabled cable TV box, which will be available to all of its cable TV customers in a few months. TiVo, currently available to Virgin's premium customers, features a range of iPad-style apps, from gaming to news to social networks.
Customers will have access to 4,600 hours of films and TV programmes, alongside millions of YouTube clips, not to mention the ability to search for content as if visiting Google rather than scrolling through the conventional programming guide. Viewers will also be able to play video games or chat to their friends on Facebook, while watching TV

Full article here.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n...and-speed.html

[mersey70]

[QUOTE=HDFootyMan;35157659]So.....from 1 to 26 HD channels; All VOD services from terrestrial broadcasters (the only platform who can make that claim); Sky 1 HD; Sky Sports HD; Sky Red Button; Sky VOD content; World-class PVR exclusive UK rollout; TiVo STB unification over the next few years; Film 4 HD exclusive; TV network unification; Analogue switch-off completion; NGTV rollout completion; Network/TV service availability expansion and 80 HD channels within the next 3 years is 'no hint of improvement' and anyone who thinks otherwise is 'deluded'?

80 HD channels in the next three years? Which ones would they be! Seriously though and with respect I think that is a wildly speculative thing to say, you may be right but I doubt it personally.

I don't know why people are so shocked my Mr Berkett's reported comment's, i'm not one bit and I like his frankness. It's pointless VM trying to steal Sky's customers, they won't and certainly not because of a STB. I wouldn't be one bit surprised if VM in the future dosen't offer linear TV services at all, ive always held that view. The new STB is a lot more capable than the old ones for use with non linear content so maybe that's where they see their future and I don't blame them but that would be a long term change if indeed if even happens.

Regarding the comments on Sky's marketing budget (which I agree is huge) I am pretty certain that the quoted budget also includes the very high cost of supplying free or subsidised kit and the associated costs of getting it into homes, it isn't all spent on advertising. For accounting reasons BSkyB class this as 'marketing'. Nevertheless they obviously spend a lot on advertising, and well they might because it's clearly works. BT must spend a huge amount too.

[spankysmagicpian]

Well, I for one wouldn't swap Virgin for Sky. I was with Sky up until about 98 whn they let me down badly - I don't forgive and forget that easily!

Apart from that - VM are going in the right direction and if they can supply a 'one for all' box with Tivo (TV / OD / Internet such as You Tube, podcasts, radio etc) then that is more than I could hope for. Their network is built for this type of convergence, so I don't see how they won't proceed along that path.

As people have mentioned, linear TV is *not* the future, you can see it know with the number of programmes watched on iPlayer etc. Choose what you want, when you want is the way ahead. I am pretty sure sitting down and watching a programme you want to watch at a set time doesn't fit with a fair number of peoples lives any more. For this reason VM wins hands down.

[alwaysabear]

I am surprised he has given this type of interview at this time, it would have been beter to wait until after tivo had launched. Maybe he has been misquoted.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I am surprised he has given this type of interview at this time, it would have been beter to wait until after tivo had launched. Maybe he has been misquoted.

The gist of what the article says is a frank assessment of the pay TV world we find ourselves in. Virgin haven't and never have had a chance of ever toppling BSkyB as the pay TV powerhouse in this country and what the article suggests about not going after Sky's TV customers is spot on, it would be waste of time and resources.

What VM can do with Tivo is pitch it at higher tier subscribers and offer a lot more than linear content, even more non linear content than we get now, muddy the waters between TV and the internet if you like. Get them signed up for a decent period and see how it goes. If anyone was in any doubt about Tivo's place in the big picture shouldn't have any doubt now, it isn't going to be aimed at stealing average Joe from Sky (I don't think it ever was), in my opinion it will take a few years to get it into 10% of their own customers homes at current prices let alone pinch Sky's average punter. Now if VM get a decent slice of their own customers signed up to a high tier of service and sign a new contract then in my eyes it's job done. I would imagine in TV terms Tivo hasn't really even been that expensive a project for VM, I doubt we are talking hundreds of millions of pounds. Certainly less than the £160m they got for, in my opinion, the correct sale of VMtv.

What the article quite rightly acknowledges is that Sky have pretty much got the average Joe group of TV customers cornered, VM is never going to be able to compete at that level of customer who just want a PVR that's cheap, or free and the widest choice of TV channels. VM will probably have a hard enough job convincing the 3/4 of their own customer base who don't even have V+ first but so long as they can get a big chunk of those big spending customers aboard they have done really well and I sincerely hope they do purely on competition grounds but the market will decide as it always does and should.

But we will have a far better picture of the future when BSkyB is (probably?) sold to News Corp, there is a real opportunity to examine Sky's policy over access to their content and it should be forensically scrutinised if News Corp are indeed successful in buying the remaining share. If the sale just goes through unchallenged then I think Virgin and everyone else may as well consider giving up on Pay TV altogether at some point.

[Henkesghost]

Originally Posted by mattboothers

You forgot to mension we dont get Sky Sports HD 3 and 4 and News HD

And we don't have the red button, just a rumour so far.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Henkesghost

And we don't have the red button, just a rumour so far.

But some form of it is coming soon although I sort of understand people's frustration, it sounds like a big technical job and I have absolutely no reason to doubt the staff on here who are on a whole very helpful.

The moral of the article which has been discussed on here for me is that put simply VM isn't Sky and vice versa. We should change provider if we want virtually every channel and interactive service that's available, if you cant change then basically it's tough luck. No one else offers all Sky's content either but no one else currently offers elements of VM's TV content too, certainly not all the catch up (I accept you can get this and more content on a PC though which I sometimes do myself). What would be the point if they offered exactly the same choice, there wouldn't be much of a choice to make then.

[Henkesghost]

Great post mersey70

The only part I disagree with is that obviously the people supposedly in the know post what's "coming soon" in good faith generally are proved to be completely inaccurate. This frustrates people couplef with the fact that virgin tell us nothing about improvements on the tv side Looks like Sky and Virgin will specialise in different areas. Just don't understand why some on here seem to have this blind you cannot criticise virgin, sky are evil mentality, it's both childish and pathetic IMHO.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Henkesghost

Great post mersey70

The only part I disagree with is that obviously the people supposedly in the know post what's "coming soon" in good faith generally are proved to be completely inaccurate. This frustrates people couplef with the fact that virgin tell us nothing about improvements on the tv side Looks like Sky and Virgin will specialise in different areas. Just don't understand why some on here seem to have this blind you cannot criticise virgin, sky are evil mentality, it's both childish and pathetic IMHO.

In fairness most things that don't happen at all were merely rumours from people who are not staff, that seems to have died down in the last few months. What has been announced by VM will happen, when though I don't know. I certainly agree that some people can be very biased where VM and Sky are concerned. I don't get that myself as they are both merely service providers, much like utility companies in my eyes. I personally couldn't care less who provides my services so long as I get what I want at the right price which right now is VM. If I held stock in either I might have a different view but I dont, if I was staff I might have a different view but i'm not.

If we accept VM for what they are it would be better but VM are not Sky and never will be, Mr Berkett seems to get that and the same applies the other way around. There's pluses and minuses on both sides

[LexDiamond]

Originally Posted by ahardie

You can see from the quote in my post above that Sky have no intention of doing so.



No it wont. A monopoly will lead to an increase in prices. Whilst Sky has some exclusive content it gives them much less incentive to compete on prices. Which is probably one reason why they do it.

The quote you posted specifically referred to Sky Atlantic HD and not the SD version. There is no evidence from that quote that Sky want to withhold the content.

Sky isn't a monopoly though. And pay tv prices are very reasonable in the UK. Comparing it to other activities, it is cheap.

Taking the example of Sky Atlantic, it is free to Sky customers. It costs them nothing. Under regulation, if this was made available to all platforms at the same price then either Sky's sub would go up or profits go down. Either way Sky is worse off for paying for HBO content and putting it on to a channel.

Like I said Sky isn't a monopoly. Regulating a company that isn't a monopoly is like punishing it for being too successful. And regulation in non monopoly situations will inevitably be to weaken that company's position which will one way or another lead to higher prices.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by LexDiamond

The quote you posted specifically referred to Sky Atlantic HD and not the SD version. There is no evidence from that quote that Sky want to withhold the content.

Sky isn't a monopoly though. And pay tv prices are very reasonable in the UK. Comparing it to other activities, it is cheap.

Taking the example of Sky Atlantic, it is free to Sky customers. It costs them nothing. Under regulation, if this was made available to all platforms at the same price then either Sky's sub would go up or profits go down. Either way Sky is worse off for paying for HBO content and putting it on to a channel.

Like I said Sky isn't a monopoly. Regulating a company that isn't a monopoly is like punishing it for being too successful. And regulation in non monopoly situations will inevitably be to weaken that company's position which will one way or another lead to higher prices.

Insist as some people do there is no evidence at all that Sky are 'withholding' Atlantic, if they were then lord knows what VM (who have confirmed they are) in negotiations for, now whether they are pricing competitors out is another matter altogether but I guess in theory they both conclude with the same outcome.

Let's also be clear that Sky Atlantic is only 'free' for a limited period of time, I think in August it becomes part of the Variety Pack and the HD version is only available to HD pack customers from launch. In my opinion 'free' is a very loose term that both VM and Sky use at times, a bit along the lines of the much mooted 'unlimited' word that ISP's and mobile operators often use.

Of course you are correct that Sky isn't a monopoly and it is a nonsense to suggest they are, however whether they are abusing their dominant market position in premium pay content is another argument altogether but that is upto the regulator to decide. A thorough review is needed perhaps when looking at the sale of BSkyB and if they decide all is in order then that's fine, if not then something needs to be done.

[Dave42]

Originally Posted by mersey70

Insist as some people do there is no evidence at all that Sky are 'withholding' Atlantic, if they were then lord knows what VM (who have confirmed they are) in negotiations for, now whether they are pricing competitors out is another matter altogether but I guess in theory they both conclude with the same outcome.

Let's also be clear that Sky Atlantic is only 'free' for a limited period of time, I think in August it becomes part of the Variety Pack and the HD version is only available to HD pack customers from launch. In my opinion 'free' is a very loose term that both VM and Sky use at times, a bit along the lines of the much mooted 'unlimited' word that ISP's and mobile operators often use.

Of course you are correct that Sky isn't a monopoly and it is a nonsense to suggest they are, however whether they are abusing their dominant market position in premium pay content is another argument altogether but that is upto the regulator to decide.

there adverts is prove that trhey withholding they made it plain from the start it sky exclusive and you only got to look at they track record about withholding channels to see this sky only want a monopoly and if murdoch gets 100% contorl nothing will stop them becoming one then prices will rocket upwards

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by alwaysabear

I am surprised he has given this type of interview at this time, it would have been beter to wait until after tivo had launched. Maybe he has been misquoted.

TiVo has launched though, maybe not available to everyone yet but it is out there for 500 staff.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Dave42

they adverts is prove that trhey withholding they made it plain from the start it sky exclusive

Exclusive and withholding mean totally different things.

It could be all manner of reasons why it will be exclusive, I accept it has the same outcome for VM/BT viewers though.