SKY VS Virgin Media

[wewillwinit6time]

My first post here, hi guys.

Could this be the first of many mistakes by the new virgin media, I for one hope not and hope this deal will get sorted, problem is you have two very rich men at the helm of this and neither of them are budging, would this of happened with the old ntl boss? who knows.
I watch Sky Sports News and Sky News and Sky One, losing these for me would not be good, I know it's only tv but it is tv I enjoy watching, I could not go over to sky as we can't get satellite fitted in and this could be a real blow to Virgin Media as there is quite a few programmes on these channels which Virgin Media customers watch.

Let's hope for a positive ending and the start of a brighter future for Virgin Media customers as after all we have been through do we not deserve just a little something back.

[Huwge]

Havent read through the entire topic. Losing Sky1, no big deal......losing Sky Sports, I would have to switch..but reluctantly

Originally Posted by Huwge

Havent read through the entire topic. Losing Sky1, no big deal......losing Sky Sports, I would have to switch..but reluctantly

err perhaps you should have read the thread better..Sky Sports is not one of the channels being discussed.

[andygrif]

Originally Posted by pedg

But what you are implying is that 75% of people who watch sky one at some point in the week will feel its loss is enough for them to go through the hassle of changing to sky.

I'm not implying anything. Like very few others on these threads, I'm not terribly bothered either way what happens with the Sky channels, but I am enjoying injecting a little common sense into each one - which appear to be dominated by people who think they're going to war than watching business being done.

In addition, I'm presenting actual stats to allow everyone to make up their own minds - as there does appear to be a lot of MIS-information being banded about.

Originally Posted by pedg

Personally I would be surprised if, when push comes to shove, less than 10% moved. As things like the convenience of VOD kick in its not just a change to sky can only be positive as you get the sky channels back, you also lose the convenience of VOD.

You might be right, but as pointed out before, could Virgin really afford to lose 10% of their customer base (which would be in the region of £14m lost revenue every month, or £168m a year)? Maybe they can, maybe they can't.

Originally Posted by pedg

The experience in the states i believe is that VOD has tended to reduce the amount of churn of customers

You're right, it does. In fact Sky have found a similar result with their Sky+ box, not that I am equating it to VOD.

Are there any statistics on the number of Virgin's customers that regularly use VOD (and spend money on it?)

[Tod]

There is no way 10% of Virgins customers would leave for Sky. 10% might be annoyed about it going, but to go through getting another subscriber and go through the hassle of changing for what is basically one channel amongst 100's - well you would have to have a screw loose to be honest. I know a few people on here will insist it's the case that you will, but can you REALLY be bothered?

I bet there are some people here that would say they would leave if we lost QVC!

[Kaychsea]

Originally Posted by andygrif

You're right, it does. In fact Sky have found a similar result with their Sky+ box, not that I am equating it to VOD.

Might that have something to do with the £299 people have to splash out on the box?

[Perfect Choice]

First post here. The issue for me here is my own family pressure for what is on Sky One namely the latest Simpsons, 24 and Lost! It is not the channels generally but those top programmes Sky has purchased (like taking Lost from Channel Four). Putting it simply, it will be an easier life for me to buy the minimum Sky TV service to get these and as I have only recently purchased a 12-month contract for NTL's £30 per month package for TV, telephone & broadband, I'm not too happy losing one on the main reasons I moved to cable in the first place (the other being Broadband where the distance from my nearest BT exchange means I can only get 1MB so cable is the only way right now for higher bandwidth). If this does finally go ahead, I'll probably drop back to Broadband only or a 2 package with the telephone service once my 12 month contract ends. I've seen comments about the new channel 119 VOD service but unless it shows my family's favourite programmes, it is irrelevant.

[BushPigUK]

If Virgin use their heads and drop their price as they no longer have to pay Sky then it makes it more attractive to stay.
Lets face it, if we are sensible all you need do is download the programs you watch on Sky1/2 they are easy enough to find on any torrent site. In the end you'll be watching episodes before Sky show them so you can pee off Sky people by spoiling it for them :-)

[krusty23]

Originally Posted by BushPigUK

Lets face it, if we are sensible all you need do is download the programs you watch on Sky1/2 they are easy enough to find on any torrent site. In the end you'll be watching episodes before Sky show them so you can pee off Sky people by spoiling it for them :-)

Plus, doing this, you avoid having your favorite show ruined by having commercials every 10 mins.

[highroyds]

no way would I move over to to Sky after all the problems that I've heard from some of their customers. Plus if Sky do pull their channels they're going to have to get the money from somewhere else and the first though is the Sky Customers bills are going to go up.

[rogerdraig]

Originally Posted by ntl.wotcha

Actually, your poll is missing an option.

3. Cancel sub and revert to Freeview.

Which is what I would do as I do not watch a great lot of stuff except sky1. and I'm damned if I'll pay anything to Murdoch if he uses such low tactics.

yep i would have voted that way instead too

[Toto]

Originally Posted by Kaychsea

Might that have something to do with the £299 people have to splash out on the box?

I have a feeling that Sky would want to hurt VM's subscriber base, so don't be too surprised if you see some fantastic deals available soon for ex-VM subscribers.

Sky need to move quickly. If the channels do go by the end of next week, Sky will have to have a broad strategy to entice VM users. This could be a credit check waver, reduced price on STB's, and good 3 month to 6 month deals outside of the norm. Obviuosly they will need sweetners for existing customers who will complain about ex-VM customers getting better deals.

This WILL cost Sky in the short term, and if they have thought things through, they will have a clear idea about keeping those customers. Cheap talk perhaps, and possibly broadband, the only problem facing them is getting those ex-VM customers on ntl lines to go back to BT, that isn't going to be cheap.

I am uncertain though if this apparent endless pot of money is going to continue, and that the advertisers will start to drop Sky. RB could go on a charm offensive, and entice advertisers into deals to show selected adverts on their on demand services....possibly?

I think though that we are never going to know until the place holders go up for Sky One, Two and Three, and the two other channels. At that point I would assume retentions are going to be busy, and we are going to see more deals announced.

What I would really like to see though is NEW content, making say Living the replacement fo Sky. I can get Lost, BSG and SG1 and Atlantis from other sources, loosing Sky is no big deal.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by BushPigUK

If Virgin use their heads and drop their price as they no longer have to pay Sky then it makes it more attractive to stay.

the difference is about £1 a month - hardly going to keep many.

[savvychels]

[quote=Tod;34231091]There is no way 10% of Virgins customers would leave for Sky. 10% might be annoyed about it going, but to go through getting another subscriber and go through the hassle of changing for what is basically one channel amongst 100's - well you would have to have a screw loose to be honest. I know a few people on here will insist it's the case that you will, but can you REALLY be bothered?

I bet there are some people here that would say they would leave if we lost QVC![/quote]

Now THAT might just be enough to send ME over the edge

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by Kaychsea

Might that have something to do with the £299 people have to splash out on the box?

You'd only pay that sort of money for a HD Sky+. The normal one if around £50. I didn't pay for my main one but we paid £99 for the second so they still took £50 each from us.