General : Coming Soon to Virgin TV (2019)

[denphone]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

It has been reported that a rationalisation of Sky channels is likely soon. It's what this means in practice that is the great unknown. However, to speculate that Universal and /or Syfy will have their content migrated to a standard definition channel does not sound very credible to me, does it to you?

There are no reports at all just a figment of ones imagination.

---------- Post added at 20:05 ---------- Previous post was at 20:03 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

However, to speculate that Universal and /or Syfy will have their content migrated to a standard definition channel does not sound very credible to me, does it to you?.

Unsubstantiated IMO.

[Media Boy UK]

C21 Media was reporting on Friday:

The final structure of the new-look channels business is not yet finalised but senior execs are also expected to leave as the two companies align their programming departments.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by Media Boy

Rumours now say on DS Forum that Insight deal with Sky was up that why the axe.

---------- Post added at 19:05 ---------- Previous post was at 18:47 ----------



We can see the following happen:

Universal Channel will close and move shows to Sky Witness, Sky One or Sky Two.
SyFy will close and move shows to Sky One or Sky Two.
E! and Movies 24 will become part of Realives brand.

New Channels?

Sky Three (For replays of the best shows on Sky One or Sky Two)
Real Action (For all the UK Reality shows from Realives, Sky One and Sky Witness to move to)
Sky Two +1
Sky Three +1
Sky Two HD
Sky Three HD
Real Action +1
Realives HD

Why?
If Sky and Universal did the following Sky would cut the replays on the main channels.

---------- Post added at 19:10 ---------- Previous post was at 19:05 ----------

That me put my 50p in

I know Sky is a household name in the UK but why would the Sky <insert number> name format be better than more distinctive names that have been around for years? SyFy, Universal, E! and Movies24 have been around for years. UK viewers know those brands.

Numbers don't convey content, viewers will forget which channel broadcasts the type of show they like. Will it become obvious that their favourite vampire show is on Sky 6 and so is their US housewife docu-soap?

I think Pick TV can be said to be doing a lot better now than under its old name of Sky3. And a good non-Sky example is Dave, it used to be UKTV G2, though admittedly much of the success there is because it coincided with it going Free-To-Air, but UKTV G2 doesn't roll off the tongue.

And staying with the UKTV example, there was a time when all their channels had UKTV added to their names. That was ultimately deemed not the best idea, so co-branding with Sky e.g. Sky SyFy and Sky Universal isn't necessarily a good alternative.

There were reports a few months ago, before Sky was bought, that Real Lives would close. The ratings numbers are tiny and I doubt most viewers would even recognise the brand. Partially because even though it's Free-To-Air, it's not on Freeview. I can't imagine Sky using that brand instead of the internationally known E!, which UK viewers are long familiar with.

I'd even go as far to say that Sky entertainment channels with numbers, other than Sky One, don't last very long, and those that do are continually relaunched. Sky Two has previously been Sky2, Sky Mix and Sky One Mix and it hasn't been a distinct channel for most of that. With on-demand increasing in popularity it has become increasingly irrelevant.

So I'm predicting the NBCUniversal channel brands to remain the same in the UK. The cost savings will come from the premises move already announced, and overlapping job positions being merged.

[jfman]

I’d imagine what Comcast do with their brands will be try to make them as broadly uniform worldwide where they can.

It won’t always be possible, but with everything moving in the direction of a small number of worldwide distributors over the air, satellite, cable and online it makes sense.

[fox35]

Originally Posted by Media Boy

Rumours now say on DS Forum that Insight deal with Sky was up that why the axe.

---------- Post added at 19:05 ---------- Previous post was at 18:47 ----------



We can see the following happen:

Universal Channel will close and move shows to Sky Witness, Sky One or Sky Two.
SyFy will close and move shows to Sky One or Sky Two.
E! and Movies 24 will become part of Realives brand.

New Channels?

Sky Three (For replays of the best shows on Sky One or Sky Two)
Real Action (For all the UK Reality shows from Realives, Sky One and Sky Witness to move to)
Sky Two +1
Sky Three +1
Sky Two HD
Sky Three HD
Real Action +1
Realives HD

Why?
If Sky and Universal did the following Sky would cut the replays on the main channels.

---------- Post added at 19:10 ---------- Previous post was at 19:05 ----------

That me put my 50p in

I honestly doubt any of the above will occur. I believe probably the opposite will happen.
The NBCU channels, along with FOX, are in my opinion are far stronger both content and brand wise than any Sky branded numeric channel. The glory days of Sky One having all the first run top US drama series ended about 15-20 years ago, even Sky Atlantic, is not the same as its launch first year. Though Sky Witness has improved too and is now far superior than Sky 1.
So I can see Sky 1 and 2 closing with main drama content sifted across to Universal TV, SyFy, Atlantic and Witness, and other content moved to one of the many lifestyle channels. Pick should continue with increased rerun content from NBCU.
I think the Sky branding is now only associated strongly with Football and questionably Sky News, so possibly NBCU may just continue the brand as a provider only, ie Direct TV or Dish Network, as opposed to a branded broadcast network of channels.

[muppetman11]

I'd politely disagree , Sky One viewing far exceeds Universal channel , Comcast will use the Sky brand to expand across Europe no way the main Sky Entertainment channels are going anywhere.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I'd politely disagree , Sky One viewing far exceeds Universal channel , Comcast will use the Sky brand to expand across Europe no way the main Sky Entertainment channels are going anywhere.

Just what l stated yesterday as where is the substantiated proof that certain Sky Entertainment Channels are closing as there ain't any and there never has been.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by cheekyangus

I know Sky is a household name in the UK but why would the Sky <insert number> name format be better than more distinctive names that have been around for years? SyFy, Universal, E! and Movies24 have been around for years. UK viewers know those brands.

Numbers don't convey content, viewers will forget which channel broadcasts the type of show they like. Will it become obvious that their favourite vampire show is on Sky 6 and so is their US housewife docu-soap?

I think Pick TV can be said to be doing a lot better now than under its old name of Sky3. And a good non-Sky example is Dave, it used to be UKTV G2, though admittedly much of the success there is because it coincided with it going Free-To-Air, but UKTV G2 doesn't roll off the tongue.

And staying with the UKTV example, there was a time when all their channels had UKTV added to their names. That was ultimately deemed not the best idea, so co-branding with Sky e.g. Sky SyFy and Sky Universal isn't necessarily a good alternative.

There were reports a few months ago, before Sky was bought, that Real Lives would close. The ratings numbers are tiny and I doubt most viewers would even recognise the brand. Partially because even though it's Free-To-Air, it's not on Freeview. I can't imagine Sky using that brand instead of the internationally known E!, which UK viewers are long familiar with.

I'd even go as far to say that Sky entertainment channels with numbers, other than Sky One, don't last very long, and those that do are continually relaunched. Sky Two has previously been Sky2, Sky Mix and Sky One Mix and it hasn't been a distinct channel for most of that. With on-demand increasing in popularity it has become increasingly irrelevant.

So I'm predicting the NBCUniversal channel brands to remain the same in the UK. The cost savings will come from the premises move already announced, and overlapping job positions being merged.

Real Lives is a pay channel (though there have been rumours for a long time that it could go FTA at some point and it's been speculated that this is why it has no Sky branding).

---------- Post added at 14:54 ---------- Previous post was at 14:50 ----------

Originally Posted by fox35

I honestly doubt any of the above will occur. I believe probably the opposite will happen.
The NBCU channels, along with FOX, are in my opinion are far stronger both content and brand wise than any Sky branded numeric channel. The glory days of Sky One having all the first run top US drama series ended about 15-20 years ago, even Sky Atlantic, is not the same as its launch first year. Though Sky Witness has improved too and is now far superior than Sky 1.
So I can see Sky 1 and 2 closing with main drama content sifted across to Universal TV, SyFy, Atlantic and Witness, and other content moved to one of the many lifestyle channels. Pick should continue with increased rerun content from NBCU.
I think the Sky branding is now only associated strongly with Football and questionably Sky News, so possibly NBCU may just continue the brand as a provider only, ie Direct TV or Dish Network, as opposed to a branded broadcast network of channels.

The very first Sky channel was 'Sky Channel'. When they increased their number of channels it was renamed to Sky 1, so I think that the original intention was to go down the route of numbering them, but then it was decided to name them by genre. With this in mind, Sky 1 etc are a bit of an anomoly so you could well be right.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I'd politely disagree , Sky One viewing far exceeds Universal channel , Comcast will use the Sky brand to expand across Europe no way the main Sky Entertainment channels are going anywhere.

I don't think Sky One will close, or Sky Witness or Sky Atlantic.

I do think Sky Two will close though. As far as I'm concerned Pick TV is what any Sky Two should be, but the Sky Two name has too many bad associations with viewers these days as it doesn't (appear to, maybe I'm wrong) have any unique programming and is thought of as a Sky One recent repeats channel.

If Sky Two doesn't close, maybe it will be given an non-numerical name rebrand, or maybe there's an international Comcast brand they could use. It needs a theme, an identity, but not a crime channel... because they are everywhere at the moment.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by denphone

Just what l stated yesterday as where is the substantiated proof that certain Sky Entertainment Channels are closing as there ain't any and there never has been.

At the end of last October the CEO of Sky, Jeremy Darroch, confirmed that Sky would be closing a number of entertainment channels and no longer acquiring niche films. No names or quantity were given, but It's been speculated that these are likely to be Sky 2 and Real Lives:

https://www.a516digital.com/2018/10/...rtainment.html

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

Real Lives is a pay channel (though there have been rumours for a long time that it could go FTA at some point and it's been speculated that this is why it has no Sky branding).

Ooops.
I swear I thought I had read that it had launched on FreeSat years ago.

But clearly not.

Thanks Richard.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

At the end of last October the CEO of Sky, Jeremy Darroch, confirmed that Sky would be closing a number of entertainment channels and no longer acquiring niche films. No names or quantity were given, but It's been speculated that these are likely to be Sky 2 and Real Lives:

https://www.a516digital.com/2018/10/...rtainment.html

Both of those are pointless but I'm referring to it's better performing channels Sky One , Sky Witness and Sky Atlantic I'd imagine all of those would remain.

In Sky Boxsets 30 Rock , The Mindy Project have been added as Sky One and Law and Order Special Victims Unit as Sky Witness so I'd imagine those channels are safe.

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by cheekyangus

Ooops.
I swear I thought I had read that it had launched on FreeSat years ago.

But clearly not.

Thanks Richard.

No problem I think that they ought to either make it FTA or close it as at the moment It's neither use nor ornament as we say here in Yorkshire

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

Just what l stated yesterday as where is the substantiated proof that certain Sky Entertainment Channels are closing as there ain't any and there never has been.

It wasn't a prediction, Den. We are all just speculating on the back of very little information. But we do know that Sky is looking to rationalise its channels, as Richard says above. We just don't yet know how they will do it.

[Media Boy UK]

Look like no channels are set to move over to MPEG4 this week.

---------- Post added at 15:55 ---------- Previous post was at 15:07 ----------

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

The very first Sky channel was 'Sky Channel'. When they increased their number of channels it was renamed to Sky 1, so I think that the original intention was to go down the route of numbering them, but then it was decided to name them by genre. With this in mind, Sky 1 etc are a bit of an anomoly so you could well be right.

Sky One did not start up as Sky Channel (Information found on Wikipedia):

Sky One started on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and was Europe's first ever cable and satellite channel.

On 27 June 1983, the shareholders of Satellite Television agreed a £5 million offer to give News International 65% of the company. Murdoch extended the broadcast hours and the number of countries the station broadcast to including the United Kingdom. On 16 January 1984, the channel was renamed Sky Channel.

Sky One was launch on February 5th 1989:

When it moved over to Astra 1A

At launch the only UK Channels was (As seen by me in mid 1990):

-ScreenSport (Later tookover by Eurosport)
-Eurosport (Was part own by Sky until 1991)
-The Children's Channel - 6am to 10am Weekdays or 12pm weekends
-Lifestyle
-Sky One
-Sky News
-MTV Europe
-Sky Movies