Sky pulls its non-premium channels from Virgin Media cable

[Dav0s]

on one hand, I say fair play to VM for not giving in to skys bullying tactics.

but unless sky give in (unlikely) or VM give in and pay higher prices (more likely, but still cant see it happening) then VM have to do something to compensate their customers, or lots will leave for sky. Mum has already been talking about it this morning.

And I know people like Howard will tell me that this isnt a good enough reason to switch, but for people who are addicted to Lost, 24, rescue me etc, im afraid it is. I'll stay on VM for now, just to see how things pan out, but at the end of the day unless skyone is back, i expect we will switch

[BUFF]

Apparently Sky recently negotiated a drastic reduction in what they paid Virginmedia for their channels (Living etc.) but then turned around & demanded double what Virginmedia had been paying for Sky one, two etc.
Virginmedia offered an extra 30%.

Is it any wonder that Sky don't want to go to arbitration ...

[Howard]

And I know people like Howard will tell me that this isnt a good enough reason to switch, but for people who are addicted to Lost, 24, rescue me etc, im afraid it is. I'll stay on VM for now, just to see how things pan out, but at the end of the day unless skyone is back, i expect we will switch

I'm not gonna say that, you can do what you like I was speaking for myself when I said that above.


And Bob, I know you were only quoting the facts, I was just questioning the reason why you posted the VM T&C


Hey.. Maybe the Government are working with Sky to make Britain a healthier place?

[stroberaver]

Apparently Sky recently negotiated a drastic reduction in what they paid Virginmedia for their channels (Living etc.) but then turned around & demanded double what Virginmedia had been paying for Sky one, two etc.
Virginmedia offered an extra 30%.

Is it any wonder that Sky don't want to go to arbitration ...

My thoughts also. Naturally I don't know whether the reduction in payment for VM's channels was due to generosity on VM's part or aggressive negotiation from Sky. What I can assume is that the reason Sky is acting like this is because it now has a genuine media rival in terms of profile and subscriber base, and Sky is scared.

What I do know is that the only thing I make a point of watching on Sky is Lost on Sunday nights. If Sky aren't prepared to accept VM's (increased) offer then they'll have to do without me and several other million people contributing to their viewing vigures, which will impact on the profitability of the affected channels. If the show I want isn't available at no extra cost through VM in the future, then neither Sky or VM are surely in any position to ever complain about people downloading tv shows instead of watching their broadcasts.

[s_kinton]

I think this could all be a good thing for the future. Sky need a rival capable of challenging them in all areas

I hope VM do as they say and strike deals direct with the licence holders of 24, Lost and others. That way we might see an end the Skys bloated prices and a more competitive market for us consumers.

Ive never had Sky, simply because I thinnk the prices are extortionate, especially the movie and sports channels. As was said before in this thread. The basic sky channels are mainly garbage anyhow, Sky One is barely passable as a 'decent' channel. Its just full of mindless american programs imo

I just hope that people dont leave VM and go to Sky - effectively rewarding this type of corporate monopoly bully behaviour

[ibrien14]

i've just cancelled sky and gone for the 3 for 30 package. the big reason i don't want to pay 300 quid for a hd box. and i know you only get one hd channel but that will increase quickly especially now, after the whole sky dropping channels problem.

[mercyground]

FYI Sky going to pull basic channels from Freeview as well... Nice monoploy.

[Dazz]

I did hear that Sky wanted 90 pence per customer per day for their channels and this was why VM said you can get stuffed. It might not sound like much it will add up with the days and customers.

[capt_cornflake]

I did hear that Sky wanted 90 pence per customer per day for their channels and this was why VM said you can get stuffed. It might not sound like much it will add up with the days and customers.

The article I read in the Guardian quoted this, and also that the recent agreement the other way (ie. Sky buying channels owned by Virgin), resulted in a cut from 40p per subscriber to 10p.

I know Virgin aren't exactly squeaky clean in the way they've handled this, but Sky really are a bunch of money grabbing <insert expletive here>.

FYI Sky going to pull basic channels from Freeview as well... Nice monoploy.

Not quite.
What they want to do is to replace the existing 3 Sky channels with 6 (by using MPEG4 encoding), but to offer these by subscription. This is still awaiting approval by Ofcom, who hopefully will tell them where to get off.

Given that Sky's proposed solution to the Virgin issue was to allow individual customers the option to pay the extra they were asking for, This does appear at least to be consistent on their part.

[nichomach]

Well, yes, but consistently being a <insert expletive here> doesn't make you any less of a <insert expletive here>...