General : ESPN, BT, Euro, Premier and Sky Sports news

[telegramsam]

The fact they've removed the annual pass does seem to suggest they're not confident of lasting very long to me.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by telegramsam

The fact they've removed the annual pass does seem to suggest they're not confident of lasting very long to me.

Weeks rather then months.

[OLD BOY]

Without a carriage deal on Sky, Virgin Media and BT, they are doomed in the UK.

VM sniffed the air, but it appears there was a bad smell.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Without a carriage deal on Sky, Virgin Media and BT, they are doomed in the UK.

VM sniffed the air, but it appears there was a bad smell.

Their business plan was obviously very flawed from the start.

[vincerooney]

Originally Posted by denphone

Their business plan was obviously very flawed from the start.

I think a "sport netflix" won't really work. i don't want to turn on my ps4, my ipad or my computer to watch a live football game. I'll watch netflix in bed before I sleep but its hardly the same watching live football in bed... You watch football matches with other people and unless you have a smart tv in your sitting room how the heck are you meant to watch it?

"oh ill switch my ps4 on....or buy an apple tv device and play it on my ipad and ping it across..."

Not many people will

1) be aware of the entire process to do this
2) be arsed to actually do all this just to watch spanish football

The sooner the channel goes out of existence and sky and BT feast on the rotten corpse the better. Like a lion devouring a foolish naive zebra who wandered into dangerous territory. Lets hope its any day now!

[Gavin-D]

BT has introduced new terms and conditions that will affect how price increases are made to home phone, broadband and mobile customers.

From the beginning of 2020, BT price rises will be linked to the CPI rate of inflation. BT customers will have their prices increased in March based on the CPI recorded in January.

A BT spokesperson confirmed the CPI-based price rise would also affect extra charges such as out of allowance calling costs and optional add-ons as well as the normal monthly charges for landline, broadband and mobile services.

At the same time, the company said there wouldn't be any increases to home phone, broadband or mobile plan prices in 2019, although BT has remained tight-lipped over possible price changes for its TV service, which this year will see additional content from Sky being added.

https://www.a516digital.com/2019/01/...mechanism.html

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

I think a "sport netflix" won't really work. i don't want to turn on my ps4, my ipad or my computer to watch a live football game. I'll watch netflix in bed before I sleep but its hardly the same watching live football in bed... You watch football matches with other people and unless you have a smart tv in your sitting room how the heck are you meant to watch it?

"oh ill switch my ps4 on....or buy an apple tv device and play it on my ipad and ping it across..."

Not many people will

1) be aware of the entire process to do this
2) be arsed to actually do all this just to watch spanish football

The sooner the channel goes out of existence and sky and BT feast on the rotten corpse the better. Like a lion devouring a foolish naive zebra who wandered into dangerous territory. Lets hope its any day now!

But surely, you wouldn't have to use your PS4 to watch streamed sports programmes. You would simply access this through your satellite or cable system. Those without pay tv would be able to access directly through their smart TVs.

I don't think there will be a 'Netflix of sports services' - the trend seems to be different sports on different streaming services. However, I could be proved wrong. Disney + when it's launched may surprise us. That would certainly be better for the punters as it should be cheaper.

[Raider999]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

But surely, you wouldn't have to use your PS4 to watch streamed sports programmes. You would simply access this through your satellite or cable system. Those without pay tv would be able to access directly through their smart TVs.

I don't think there will be a 'Netflix of sports services' - the trend seems to be different sports on different streaming services. However, I could be proved wrong. Disney + when it's launched may surprise us. That would certainly be better for the punters as it should be cheaper.

Good to see you are now admitting that streaming will not be cheap for sports fans.

Also when you say linear systems are dying, streaming taking over, how can you watch anything through your cable/satellite provider - surely you would have discontinued your subscription?

[vincerooney]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

But surely, you wouldn't have to use your PS4 to watch streamed sports programmes. You would simply access this through your satellite or cable system. Those without pay tv would be able to access directly through their smart TVs.

I don't think there will be a 'Netflix of sports services' - the trend seems to be different sports on different streaming services. However, I could be proved wrong. Disney + when it's launched may surprise us. That would certainly be better for the punters as it should be cheaper.

Well it depends on how I would access the streaming product. For example if its like netflix on the tivo it would work. But will companies like virgin really open the gates to allow such products through their boxes? We have a tivo available to run these type of apps but we've only got netflix. No amazon or other streaming services really. So either

1) the service provider is cheap and doesn't want to add the app i.e. virgin media are cheapskates
2) amazon etc don't want to create the app for closed systems etc

"ah its 5.15pm i better switch on my ps4 and then wait. click tv. wait for it to load for the sporting treat to load..."

Seems cumbersome for sport but fine for box sets of tv treats currently. Even clicking through a smart tv just sounds odd for a live sporting event. Tv- apps- scroll to provider- wait for it to load....i just want to click 501 instantly

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

Well it depends on how I would access the streaming product. For example if its like netflix on the tivo it would work. But will companies like virgin really open the gates to allow such products through their boxes? We have a tivo available to run these type of apps but we've only got netflix. No amazon or other streaming services really. So either

1) the service provider is cheap and doesn't want to add the app i.e. virgin media are cheapskates
2) amazon etc don't want to create the app for closed systems etc

"ah its 5.15pm i better switch on my ps4 and then wait. click tv. wait for it to load for the sporting treat to load..."

Seems cumbersome for sport but fine for box sets of tv treats currently. Even clicking through a smart tv just sounds odd for a live sporting event. Tv- apps- scroll to provider- wait for it to load....i just want to click 501 instantly

The way I see it, the streaming services will replace TV channels. Sky, Virgin and BT ultimately will be providing packages of streaming services instead of channels. Don't forget Starzplay has also been added recently, although it has gone to the 'on demand' section rather than the apps for some reason.

There was a reason why Amazon did not appear on Virgin following initialnegotiations, but I suspect this will change now that BT have it. You can bet your bottom dollar that Sky will have this on their platform before long.

I can understand the frustration of waiting for apps to load on the old Tivo, but on the V6, you go straight in. It's not much different to having to select the channel you want when you switch on the TV.

---------- Post added at 09:22 ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 ----------

Originally Posted by Raider999

Good to see you are now admitting that streaming will not be cheap for sports fans.

Also when you say linear systems are dying, streaming taking over, how can you watch anything through your cable/satellite provider - surely you would have discontinued your subscription?

I have never said sport will be cheap, but I do think it may well become cheaper with time.

As I said, we are most likely to have bundles of streaming services to choose from in the future, rather than bundles of channels. Liberty Global and Virgin Media have stated that they intend to be super-aggregators of content over time.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

I have never said sport will be cheap, but I do think it may well become cheaper with time.

And hell will freeze over before that ever happens..

[gba93]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

I have never said sport will be cheap, but I do think it may well become cheaper with time.

Ah, but cheaper to who?

[telegramsam]

In my opinion,for what it's worth,I think apps may well eventually replace linear channels but I doubt this will happen in my lifetime. As for sport being cheaper on apps that may start off like that but as sure as eggs are eggs the cost will rise and rise as it is with linear channels at present.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by gba93

Ah, but cheaper to who?

Well, for a start, I would expect other players to do this differently from Sky. At the moment, for example, if you would be happy to watch your kind of sport occasionally, you have to subscribe to the full sports monty offered by Sky or BT. If a more limited amount of sport was also available for less, this would attract more subscribers. Just as the US telcos have adopted 'skinny bundles' to attract those who cannot or will not pay for a more comprehensive set of channels, the global beasts will be set on maximising income to keep prices low and may also offer loss leaders.

Sky has an attitude which means that it tries to draw everyone to its platform by denying content to others and bolstering prices to what the market can take. That will not necessarily be the same model used by streaming services, who can be expected to be more flexible to make lower prices possible.

There are different approaches to this that would benefit consumers as I have discussed before, which will concentrate on increasing viewers not only on their own platform but also by seeking alternative platforms to maximise income.

[Raider999]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Well, for a start, I would expect other players to do this differently from Sky. At the moment, for example, if you would be happy to watch your kind of sport occasionally, you have to subscribe to the full sports monty offered by Sky or BT. If a more limited amount of sport was also available for less, this would attract more subscribers. Just as the US telcos have adopted 'skinny bundles' to attract those who cannot or will not pay for a more comprehensive set of channels, the global beasts will be set on maximising income to keep prices low and may also offer loss leaders.

Sky has an attitude which means that it tries to draw everyone to its platform by denying content to others and bolstering prices to what the market can take. That will not necessarily be the same model used by streaming services, who can be expected to be more flexible to make lower prices possible.

There are different approaches to this that would benefit consumers as I have discussed before, which will concentrate on increasing viewers not only on their own platform but also by seeking alternative platforms to maximise income.

The trouble is people watch other sport to Premier League football.

I myself watch Rugby Union, Rugby League, Cricket regularly as well as golf, American football occasionally.

Being able to get my fill of these sports from 2 sources (BT and Sky) is the cheapest way when you consider the cost of streaming - Australian Rugby League was offered at over £20pm, imagine how much all these other sports would cost me at that rate?

I would have thought streamers would start low and increase subs when you are hooked or to apathetic to unsubscribe. So if £20pm for a part of one sport is cheap heaven I am glad I won't be around when linear channels disappear.

---------- Post added at 13:27 ---------- Previous post was at 13:25 ----------

The real problem with sky/VM is I have to pay a base subscription of over £20pm for the basic channels I never watch.