General : Virgin Media & UKTV+ITV Channels

[jb66]

Originally Posted by Mr K

I guess it depends which channels you watch. Some get very excited about the prospect of Sky Atlantic, personally couldn't give a toss about it. I suspect UKTV viewers might be more senior, paying over the odds, have been with VM for years and very valuable to VMs profits.

I guess your right, not the netflix generation

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by jb66

I guess your right, not the netflix generation

What's 'netflix'?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by jb66

Why is everyone loosing it? What programs are folk going to miss on those channels? I never watch them

Remember one man's meat is another man's poison.

---------- Post added at 20:31 ---------- Previous post was at 20:30 ----------

Originally Posted by jb66

I guess your right, not the netflix generation

A considerable amount are not interested in it.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

I have watched the odd programme on Drama and last year I recorded a series that was on W, but to be honest, most of the content is quite old and almost everything shown are repeats.

So I will not miss these channels at all, but I feel sorry for those whose staple diet of TV viewing consists of archive material.

Not me personally, but in my household Albi, Watch (for all the Tipping Points), and sometimes Drama, are watched everyday - all day.

It's a big deal for us.

[Mr K]

The support forum has gone ballistic. About the the first 30 threads on the tv forum is on this subject. Don't know how true this is but somebody has mentioned VM viewers spend 25% of time on UKTV channels. And this is from people that know about it advance, I've heard nothing from VM, just read it on here. Wouldn't like to be on the VM phones on Monday morning when the rest find out.

[spj20016]

I watch programmes on Gold every day and when I have been through my series links there was 3 set up for programs on W. You sometimes won't realise a program you follow is on one of the channels you don't watch a great deal. I have got around Gold by getting a Now TV entertainment pass but nothing I can do about W. It is annoying that I have to use another device to watch Gold. Hopefully Virgin media and UKTV will come compromise in the end.

[Inactive Digital]

So Virgin claims the BBC is witholding on demand, and UKTV says the fallout is because Virgin is cutting the amount it's willing to pay them. Where does the truth lie? Somewhere in the middle is my guess.

The 2016 BBC carriage deal with UKTV included 10,000 hours of on demand content, including Only Fools and Horses (see here). OFAH is BBC content of the type Virgin says UKTV can't provide. So at some point in the past two years, UKTV seems to have lost the rights to on demand BBC archive programmes. If the BBC gave UKTV no option to renew the on demand rights, I can see why Virgin would be upset with the BBC.
That to me would not be a failure on Virgin's side and if they are getting less from UKTV, why wouldn't they expect to pay less?

Of course, the same could be said for the customers too!

[nodrogd]

Originally Posted by Inactive Digital

So Virgin claims the BBC is witholding on demand, and UKTV says the fallout is because Virgin is cutting the amount it's willing to pay them. Where does the truth lie? Somewhere in the middle is my guess.

The 2016 BBC carriage deal with UKTV included 10,000 hours of on demand content, including Only Fools and Horses (see here). OFAH is BBC content of the type Virgin says UKTV can't provide. So at some point in the past two years, UKTV seems to have lost the rights to on demand BBC archive programmes. If the BBC gave UKTV no option to renew the on demand rights, I can see why Virgin would be upset with the BBC.
That to me would not be a failure on Virgin's side and if they are getting less from UKTV, why wouldn't they expect to pay less?

Of course, the same could be said for the customers too!

Exactly right. Instead of keeping the rights with UKTV, a venture I hasten to add the BBC are part of, they sold the rights to Netflix, assumedly as they would make more money.

[MalteseFalcon]

I would imagine it's a combination. If BBC are withholding the on demand rights, then Virgin won't want to pay top money for the channels only. It's a deadlock situation that will hopefully be solved sooner rather than later.

[Chad]

This scenario is helping to highlight the value of streaming services.

A combination of NOW TV, TV Player and Freeview will almost replicate Virgins main entertainment line up minus +1 and HD channels plus music channels. If your not a fan of sports and movies streaming services are looking like a real value alternative.

The TV Player annual pass, which includes all UKTV channels, is £79.99. Alternatively it's £7.99 per month. NOW Entertainment passes are being sold at £15.00 for 3 months or £25.00 for 5 months. You can get both for as little as £11.66 per month.

You'll need to shell out on new equipment, especially if you want to record content. You can pick up a YouView box for £125.00, or considerably cheaper if you are happy to go second hand. A ROKU stick, which supports both NOW TV and TV Player will set you back £29.99. A sore outlay up front but could be worth it in the long term.

For fans of HD it's not all bad news making the switch. Freeview offers 15 HD channels, NOW TV 12 in 720p and TV Player 3. NOW TV have confirmed streams will be jumping up to 1080p and TV Player are looking to add more HD channels soon. 30 HD channels in total now but easily 40 in the next 12 months.

Both NOW TV and TV Player offer extensive catch up services for their channels and TV Player offer 10 hours of cloud recording with their subscription. NOW TV also offers a massive selection of box sets so whilst you may not always be able to record the shows you'd like, you certainly don't need to miss them.

The real bonus of having both Youview and Roku is the world of apps it opens you up to. BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, MY5, UKTV Play, YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hayu, WWE Network etc...

Just think whenever a new channels launches on Freeview you'll have it from day 1. If SKY launches a new channel you're very likely to have it from the start on NOW TV. You'll have more chance of accessing the next big entertainment app from the start also. You'll no longer have to wait months, sometimes years to get the latest entertainment.

It's worth a thought.

[Gavin-D]

Originally Posted by spj20016

I watch programmes on Gold every day and when I have been through my series links there was 3 set up for programs on W. You sometimes won't realise a program you follow is on one of the channels you don't watch a great deal. I have got around Gold by getting a Now TV entertainment pass but nothing I can do about W. It is annoying that I have to use another device to watch Gold. Hopefully Virgin media and UKTV will come compromise in the end.

TV player has all the UKTV channels and offers 10 hrs of recording for around £7.99 a month

[spj20016]

Originally Posted by Gavin-D

TV player has all the UKTV channels and offers 10 hrs of recording for around £7.99 a month

Thank you for letting me know. Maybe I will phone VM tomorrow if we do loose the channels and try to get a £7.99 discount temporarily to cover the cost.

[johnasimmons]

This will be the last straw with VM after being with them for 25+ years...

[Raider999]

Never watch these channels - mostly repeats - not sure what all the fuss is about.

However I will be happy when Virgin reduce my subscription to compensate me for the loss.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Raider999

Never watch these channels - mostly repeats - not sure what all the fuss is about.

However I will be happy when Virgin reduce my subscription to compensate me for the loss.

You could be waiting a long time if you think they are going to compensate you.