VOD : Netflix/Streaming Services

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

but as you say, they will still have to fill in hours of scheduling, which will continue to be filled with dross because it's cheap.

The main reason so many hours are filled with dross is because there is a limited amount of 'good stuff' out there.

As you remarked earlier, there are more channels competing for the good US Network TV dramas and so it is spread thinly between all those channels.

It doesn't surprise or bother me that each channel only has two or three good shows; I just watch those and don't bother about what they show along side them.

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Sky has already stated their aim is to become less and less reliant on having to acquire content , they've pledged to increase spending on homegrown content to £600 million a year by the end of this year they've also created content with numerous worldwide broadcasters such as Canal + , Cinemax (HBO) , Showtime and NBC.

In September 2013 eight of its top ten shows were made and commissioned by Sky , clearly content is subjective however I think they'll continue along this path of having a mix of homegrown content along with US acquisitions.

Netflix will continue with its original content whilst innovating with its technology in my opinion.

Didn't Sky work with Cinemax on the fantastic series of Strikeback?

[johnathome]

Originally Posted by weenie

Just started watching The Riches

I watched a few of those when it first aired and then forgot to record, i didn't bother trying to find the episode(s) i missed as i thought it tailed off rather quickly. It didn't seem to know where it was going.

IMO of course

[harry_hitch]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

The way things are going, Sky had to consider a different way of operating in the future. Having been slow to get off the ground with VOD, it now realises that this is the way to go.

But they want also to keep their channels going for as long as possible, and with the increasing competition for US content, they made the right call in deciding to commission their own material.

If they can come up with good cutting edge dramas like Strike Back, things will definitely improve, but as you say, they will still have to fill in hours of scheduling, which will continue to be filled with dross because it's cheap.

Why fill numerous channels with dross though when they could offer a high quality service (like netflix) at a fraction of the cost? Exclusive sports and movie rights are a different ballgame and should, unfortunately, be charged at a rate punters are willing to pay.

[gld00]

Hi guys, new member to this community here.
Just thought I'd let you all know that the netflix free 6 months offer is now included with the Essential collection. Previously, I believe it was only the XL package. I only found this out after seeing an advert in the Central region. On phoning virgin today, bizarrely the adding packages dept knew nothing about this??? But they thanked me profusely for letting them know...... Yea right.

[Kabaal]

Originally Posted by gld00

Hi guys, new member to this community here.
Just thought I'd let you all know that the netflix free 6 months offer is now included with the Essential collection. Previously, I believe it was only the XL package. I only found this out after seeing an advert in the Central region. On phoning virgin today, bizarrely the adding packages dept knew nothing about this??? But they thanked me profusely for letting them know...... Yea right.

According to the web site they all include it now even the cheapest one; the 'Starter Collection'.

I do wonder if they are shooting themselves in the foot giving netflix away. It's bound to make many question whether their actual TV package is worth it, especially the cheapest one considering you don't get Sky1, Syfy etc on it.

[RobboEdin]

Originally Posted by Kabaal

According to the web site they all include it now even the cheapest one; the 'Starter Collection'.

I do wonder if they are shooting themselves in the foot giving netflix away. It's bound to make many question whether their actual TV package is worth it, especially the cheapest one considering you don't get Sky1, Syfy etc on it.

...but Virgin Media are giving absolutely nothing away!!

They are, in fact, helping Netflix market their product.

No direct revenue comes to Virgin Media, although they may get some remuneration for their marketing activity.

All customers of Netflix pay Netflix directly for the service.

[Kabaal]

Originally Posted by RobboEdin

...but Virgin Media are giving absolutely nothing away!!

They are, in fact, helping Netflix market their product.

No direct revenue comes to Virgin Media, although they may get some remuneration for their marketing activity.

All customers of Netflix pay Netflix directly for the service.

I didn't mean that Virgin were paying for Netflix. Perhaps i just worded it wrong and should have used the word include... pedant

[RobboEdin]

Originally Posted by Kabaal

I didn't mean that Virgin were paying for Netflix. Perhaps i just worded it wrong and should have used the word include... pedant

OK since you've called me pedantic.

No Virgin Media Collection includes Netflix either.

What you do get is a code which allows you 6 further months free use of Netflix.

[Kabaal]

You do realise that the point i was making in the post was that they are introducing customers to a service that many will find more appealing than their own? I neither mentioned nor implied anything about it costing Virgin anything or the manner it's passed to the customer so i have no idea why you are focusing on that.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by harry_hitch

Why fill numerous channels with dross though when they could offer a high quality service (like netflix) at a fraction of the cost? Exclusive sports and movie rights are a different ballgame and should, unfortunately, be charged at a rate punters are willing to pay.

Well, exactly. Sky should have been making or commissioning good dramas of its own rather than relying on US imports. It has just gone for the cheap and cheerful option.

It is certainly curious that a subscription channel like Sky 1 is of inferior quality to a free commercial channel like ITV1. They should be using their subscription and advertising revenues to improve the quality of their programming, which would in turn attract more customers.

There will come a point at which subscribers will decide to ditch Sky altogether if they don't rise to the challenge of the likes of Netflix and provide viewers with a reason to continue to pay all this money to them, which currently is for very little.

---------- Post added at 13:42 ---------- Previous post was at 13:39 ----------

Originally Posted by RobboEdin

No direct revenue comes to Virgin Media, although they may get some remuneration for their marketing activity.

All customers of Netflix pay Netflix directly for the service.

Although we pay directly for Netflix, VM must have an arrangement whereby they earn a fee from making the service available on the platform.

---------- Post added at 13:46 ---------- Previous post was at 13:42 ----------

Originally Posted by Kabaal

I do wonder if they are shooting themselves in the foot giving netflix away. It's bound to make many question whether their actual TV package is worth it, especially the cheapest one considering you don't get Sky1, Syfy etc on it.

Netflix is available to people who want to use it by other means, so I don't think VM are shooting themselves in the foot. What they are doing is bringing together a huge range of content in a way that helps customers by not having to buy additional equipment to view it.

I don't think VM will lose too much sleep if customer responses lead them to rely less on the anti-competitive practices of Sky. I don't think VM even make a profit from providing access to Sky Movies!

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

It is certainly curious that a subscription channel like Sky 1 is of inferior quality to a free commercial channel like ITV1.

I can only think of a couple of shows I watch on ITV, and one of those is a US import (The Americans)

I can think of more on Sky channels including the Black List, Nikita, Arrow and presumably the new Event series of 24 will end up on Sky... Therefore I don't agree with your opinion on Sky being inferior to ITV.

Like I said previously, there are only a few good shows on every channel, so it's wrong to expect good stuff all the time.

[eljay]

You are never going to be offered a channel with all the good stuff on it as it would be to costly to the providers and not in the PAY TV companies interests. It is better for the PAY TV companies interests to have them spread around therefore encouraging people to go for bigger packages to try and cover the greatest range of choice.

There are four adults and a 5 year old in my house and we all have diversified tastes in the type of programs we want to watch. I have never been able to get all those channels in a smaller package and had to have XL at VM and now EE+ at Sky just to keep the natives quiet.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by eljay

You are never going to be offered a channel with all the good stuff on it as it would be to costly to the providers and not in the PAY TV companies interests. It is better for the PAY TV companies interests to have them spread around therefore encouraging people to go for bigger packages to try and cover the greatest range of choice.

Yes, I agree, but that model is no longer relevant with 'On Demand' becoming the prevailing method of viewing. I really don't understand why people still watch all their programmes 'live' from the TV channels and sit through all those adverts! However, I think it's beginning to dawn on more and more people that they are wasting their lives watching 15 - 18 minutes of ads every hour.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

However, I think it's beginning to dawn on more and more people that they are wasting their lives watching 15 - 18 minutes of ads every hour.

You're forgetting the 'Tweet Brigade' who have to watch things live to tweet their opinion on the show every 10 seconds!