Virgin Media too Confident?

[awibble]

Results from Virgins site at 08:12


Sky withdraws its non-premium channels
What do you think of Sky withdrawing its non-premium channels like Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News from Virgin Media's TV service?

• 32.22 %Murdoch's trying to bully me into switching to Sky, but I am not going to be bullied!
• 45.92 %Virgin Media promised me channels that are now not available, it's unfair and I am definitely leaving
• 4.84 %I am happy with Virgin Media, I don't know what all the fuss is about?
• 17.02 %Virgin Media should spend whatever it takes to save these channels, even if that means I pay more in the long-run

Now that looks to me like...

Did you want Skyone or not?

• 62.94 Yes i want it
• 37.06No i Dont

Maybe Virgin have been more confident about what customers want than they should of been.

[Graham M]

Ive never even been to the Virgin Media site, which just goes to say polls like that are probably not indicative of anywhere near VM's entire user base.

[MovedGoalPosts]

hmm, exactly where is this poll. It's not obviously linked to from anywhere on the main virginmedia.com site

However I don't think your broadbrush analysis of the results are fair.

Firstly how many people have voted, and more importantly how does it ensure one person one vote (many of these things can be amnipulated). Is it a representative sample. We know for example that many of the votes on Cable Forum, are only getting a very small proportion of the population who might have an opinion, simply because on ly a few use forums and even fewer of those forum users visit CF.

The point is, with those 4 questions I couldn't accurately answer any of them. I would want to respond - yes I'd like to have Sky (I did watch it), but I'm not leaving VM because it's gone.

[awibble]

I was hoping other people would post the results at different times...

Its linked to from the fairplay page
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/fairplay/index.html

It now has a section called were listening, and you can vote from in there.

Im more than willing to look at the results again as more people post

[Paul K]

The only way that vote would actually be fair and correct would be if you had to register with your account number to vote. Any open vote on a website can be fiddled by getting employees etc to register or vote.

[slowcoach]

One channels the same as another when you fall asleep.

[themelon]

But I dont think anyone would have been happy paying an extra subscription fee because of the riddiculous increase Sky were expecting.I would have gone to Freeview if my subscription had risen to fund thiscrap

Oh goody!

Another Sky versus VM thread - I was a bit worried that we didn't have enough of them on Cable Forum.

I understand that some people are upset/annoyed/(fill in appropriate emotion) that as VM customers, they will no longer be able to see some of their favourite TV programmes which were on Sky One et al.

At the end of the day, two businesses couldn't agree contractual terms - it happens all the time; I don't remember everyone complaining this much when BBC lost the "24" series to Sky; there weren't people posting online saying "I am willing to pay more for my TV licence so I can watch "24"", or, "I want my TV licence reduced because I can't watch "24" on the BBC anymore".

There are, however, a number of options available to people:-
a) Cancel VM
b) Cancel VM and take a Sky subscription
c) Cancel VM and get a Freeview box
d) Stay with VM and do nothing
e) Stay with VM and talk to CS about a better deal
f) Stay with VM and take a Sky subscription (unusual, but possible)
g) Do nothing, but complain a lot
h) Take one of options a) - f), and complain a lot

[AndyCambs]

Originally Posted by Paul

The only way that vote would actually be fair and correct would be if you had to register with your account number to vote. Any open vote on a website can be fiddled by getting employees etc to register or vote.

Or Sky employees (heaven forbid....)

Originally Posted by AndyCambs

Or Sky employees (heaven forbid....)

With websites with ownership hidden (couldn't happen, could it?)

"Visit AboutUs.org for more information about virginmediasucks.com
AboutUs: virginmediasucks.com
Registration Service Provided By: NameCheap.com
Contact: support@NameCheap.com
Domain name: virginmediasucks.com
Registrant Contact:
WhoisGuard
WhoisGuard Protected (8da5488c0d03484aa26990ea0c1f3d71.protect@whoisgua rd.com)
+1.6613102107
Fax: +1.6613102107
8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd. #110 - 732
Westchester, CA 90045
US
"

Originally Posted by AndyCambs

Or Sky employees (heaven forbid....)

Indeed. I wonder why VM even bothered with such a poll. It's just begging to be abused. I wonder whether a memo went round Sky head office encouraging staff to take part.

[AndyCambs]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Indeed. I wonder why VM even bothered with such a poll. It's just begging to be abused. I wonder whether a memo went round Sky head office encouraging staff to take part.

I can't imagine anything so underhand.....

[a posse ad esse]

Originally Posted by Zeph

Ive never even been to the Virgin Media site,
which just goes to say polls like that are probably not indicative of
anywhere near VM's entire user base.

Exactly. How many times has anyone been to the VM site
other than to check on service status or subscribe initially.

The only reason a lot of people are going to the site now is
to is fnd a way to contact VM to complain, so of course any
polls they put up wil be skewed! (the '37%' has to be mostly
from here or DS?)

I reckon VM have finally got wind of some of the customers
who are disgruntled at not having a say in the first place and
have thrown up this poll as in a knee-jerk reaction...
and possibly shot themselves in the foot.

Ah well, I'm not overly bothered. If they can keep their heads
above water on this one (and get their finger out as far as
new TVOD content and re-routing funds to score big rights)
they should be on equal footing with BskyB within a year or so.

Cheers,
-Mark

[awibble]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

Oh goody!

Another Sky versus VM thread - I was a bit worried that we didn't have enough of them on Cable Forum.

I was acutally hoping people might just talk about the poll results, and maybe post what the results where at when they voted.

[King Of Fools]

Originally Posted by awibble

Did you want Skyone or not?

• 62.94 Yes i want it
• 37.06No i Dont

So, of the people who have tuned into Sky, found the channels missing, gone to the special Virgin Media URL and voted, only two-thirds of them actually wanted to watch Sky in the first place!