Interesting move. It means that, after all this, BT will get on Sky Sports...sort of!
Not sure how much notice people take of shirt sponsors mind. I can only tell you the sponsor of the team I support - couldn't tell you any other PL club or other sports team for that matter.
Smart move. It will of cost peanuts and means they can advertise to the Sky Rugby viewers during the Heineken cup games plus they have SPL coverage so a scottish based team sponsorship makes sense.
Interesting move. It means that, after all this, BT will get on Sky Sports...sort of!
Not sure how much notice people take of shirt sponsors mind. I can only tell you the sponsor of the team I support - couldn't tell you any other PL club or other sports team for that matter.
Just had a look at the bt sport schedule and it seems they are making it impossible to follow. Some bundesliga games on bt sport and some on espn, then the same with ligue 1. How will they present this on different channels? Same presenters in different studios to match the channel? just seems a mess to me
ESPN will probably just be non studio/commentary online shows
i am glad they are maximizing all 3 channels personally.
Should common sense tell us that BT Sport will have special offers after this pre-launch one?
In fact, if the pricing is fixed at £15 activation + £12/£15 per month sd/hd it could be argued that the pre-launch offer of free HD isn't that much of one.
But is the next step to find a way to entice people who didn't jump in first and who are a) in two minds or b) persuaded in by a "bargain"? Or is it simply to stand firm on fixed pricing (because this isn't about monthly subscribers it is associated with tripleplay)?
is this latest sky move proof some customers are making the switch and sky are starting to woory if it continues.
I doubt it. Looks like belt and braces to me - nothing more than a rebadge of existing offers - e.g. free broadband unlimited for Sky Sports Customers.
They will know that the average punter will be either struggling or too lazy to do the detailed costings themselves (let's be honest, it isn't a straightforward comparison). However, by presenting it in this manner, that same customer will be left in little doubt - "stay with Sky and I know I'm getting the best deal, whilst still getting all of the football."
One of the sticking points of negotiations has been whether Virgin will bundle the new channels in with its TV XL premium package - as was previously the case with ESPN - or whether it will charge for them as a standalone product.
It is not clear which route has been taken, but a Virgin Media spokesman said: We’re always looking bring the best possible value and choice of great quality content to our customers and we’re talking to BT about how we could potentially make the forthcoming BT Sport package available.”
Earlier this year, Virgin Media sent an online survey out to customers asking whether they would be willing to pay slightly more for their top package if it were to include Premier League football and Sky Atlantic, which could pave the way for this move.
Would BT really bundle their channels into XL? Can't see it myself.
Well, as a Virgin customer I was surprised when they bundled Setanta in the XL package (which they did a few weeks after they started selling it as a premium channel cos I subscribed to it the day before it moved, and phoned to check I wouldn't be billed for that one day) because it actually meant that the price I was paying for Premier League football went down, as I was paying £50 a season for PremPlus. Is the BT package that much better than Setanta was? Hard to say, really. I'm assuming it'll be a premium channel, though.
I actually said that I didn't care less what they did until 1st August (which would still provide over two weeks to get something sorted for the start of the Premier League season) and I was always about 90% certain they'd do a deal, if this is true. I think BT had more to lose than Virgin, with Virgin promoting the fact they had all six Sky Sports channels (don't care about HD, my telly is not big enough). I don't know how much churn there was when they lost Sky One and Sky Sports News but I never considered switching during that dispute.
It's a question of convenience for Virgin customers anyway, you'd need a new box, probably a new phone line, and for me I get a cheap deal on my mobile as well by taking all the others, so it would have been tough to convince many to jump through all those hoops to get it.
A mate of mine just got Fibre free for six months by recontracting himself - paid the line rental upfront, so effectively £19.95 a month over the 12 months. That's not bad.
I know he got that deal, because I sorted it out for him.
A mate of mine just got Fibre free for six months by recontracting himself - paid the line rental upfront, so effectively £19.95 a month over the 12 months. That's not bad.
I know he got that deal, because I sorted it out for him.
Yes, when I rang Sky a few weeks back and asked what they would give me to recontract I was offered a year of free unlimited 'standard' 20Mb broadband or six months of free fibre. Even though I went for the standard, I do think the free fibre is a good deal.
No they're not "in the clear". They're encrypted, albeit apparently at a "low level". There are versions of the SD channels FTA but I think they're the old ones that will be removed soon.
Presumably the encryption level will change on Wednesday.
The placeholder channels were removed some weeks ago, the versions you see on the EPG are the actual channels.
The placeholder channels were removed some weeks ago, the versions you see on the EPG are the actual channels.
I don't see anything on the EPG.
There are still FTA versions of the SD channels according to KingOfSat. Can't be arsed to check myself but if they are still there, they'll surely be gone later this week. If not, Freesat and Sky users could add them in "other channels"... :eek:
Would BT really bundle their channels into XL? Can't see it myself.
I hope not. If they do I will cancel as I'm paying enough for sky as it is plus 12 quid for bt sport. I would be angry if virgin bundled it in their xl pack. I can't get virgin where I am.
ESPN will probably just be non studio/commentary online shows
i am glad they are maximizing all 3 channels personally.
No it's good to use all three I agree but just a bit confusing one week French footy on bt sports then the next on espn. I'd change espn and call it bt sports xtra. For American sport and surplus of bt 1 and 2
No it's good to use all three I agree but just a bit confusing one week French footy on bt sports then the next on espn. I'd change espn and call it bt sports xtra. For American sport and surplus of bt 1 and 2
Meh. ESPN is a bigger brand at the moment, and BT have bought it as an entity, therefore they must be licensing it from the US original company, as such I'm sure part of the agreement was keeping the brand alive here in the UK.
Yeah, ESPN is a pretty big name and brand and will probably help BT to start with. It's not like the other sports channels don't mix things up when schedules require it - ESPN used to show loads of American sports on the main channel, despite there being an ESPN America.
It just confuses it. We will soon see. It's just say they do German footy in the bt studio then next week it's on espn will they use the bt studio or an espn studio? That's where the confusion is
It just confuses it. We will soon see. It's just say they do German footy in the bt studio then next week it's on espn will they use the bt studio or an espn studio? That's where the confusion is
There's no confusion to the general sheep public, only to people like us who know about and notice details like this. Anyone who can get BTS1 can get ESPN and vice versa, so it's not as if they won't be able to watch something one week and not the next.
I would also posit that anyone sad / dedicated enough to watch German football week in week out will know where to watch it, when and on what channel, wherever it is.
Comments
Not sure how much notice people take of shirt sponsors mind. I can only tell you the sponsor of the team I support - couldn't tell you any other PL club or other sports team for that matter.
Sky have 30 RaboDirect Pro 12 games from 2014-15 for 4 years so the shirt sponsor will be apparent if Glasgow/Edinburgh feature in those also!
http://www1.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/15180/8684039/rabodirect-pro12-games-to-be-shown-on-sky-sports-from-2014
ESPN will probably just be non studio/commentary online shows
i am glad they are maximizing all 3 channels personally.
In fact, if the pricing is fixed at £15 activation + £12/£15 per month sd/hd it could be argued that the pre-launch offer of free HD isn't that much of one.
But is the next step to find a way to entice people who didn't jump in first and who are a) in two minds or b) persuaded in by a "bargain"? Or is it simply to stand firm on fixed pricing (because this isn't about monthly subscribers it is associated with tripleplay)?
I doubt it. Looks like belt and braces to me - nothing more than a rebadge of existing offers - e.g. free broadband unlimited for Sky Sports Customers.
They will know that the average punter will be either struggling or too lazy to do the detailed costings themselves (let's be honest, it isn't a straightforward comparison). However, by presenting it in this manner, that same customer will be left in little doubt - "stay with Sky and I know I'm getting the best deal, whilst still getting all of the football."
doesn't apply to existing Sky Fibre customers.
:mad::mad:
From the article.
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/broadcasters/bt-sport-set-to-strike-virgin-media-carriage-deal/5058746.article?referrer=RSS
Would BT really bundle their channels into XL? Can't see it myself.
depends on how much VM give them if they do...
Well, as a Virgin customer I was surprised when they bundled Setanta in the XL package (which they did a few weeks after they started selling it as a premium channel cos I subscribed to it the day before it moved, and phoned to check I wouldn't be billed for that one day) because it actually meant that the price I was paying for Premier League football went down, as I was paying £50 a season for PremPlus. Is the BT package that much better than Setanta was? Hard to say, really. I'm assuming it'll be a premium channel, though.
I actually said that I didn't care less what they did until 1st August (which would still provide over two weeks to get something sorted for the start of the Premier League season) and I was always about 90% certain they'd do a deal, if this is true. I think BT had more to lose than Virgin, with Virgin promoting the fact they had all six Sky Sports channels (don't care about HD, my telly is not big enough). I don't know how much churn there was when they lost Sky One and Sky Sports News but I never considered switching during that dispute.
It's a question of convenience for Virgin customers anyway, you'd need a new box, probably a new phone line, and for me I get a cheap deal on my mobile as well by taking all the others, so it would have been tough to convince many to jump through all those hoops to get it.
I know he got that deal, because I sorted it out for him.
Yes, when I rang Sky a few weeks back and asked what they would give me to recontract I was offered a year of free unlimited 'standard' 20Mb broadband or six months of free fibre. Even though I went for the standard, I do think the free fibre is a good deal.
There are still FTA versions of the SD channels according to KingOfSat. Can't be arsed to check myself but if they are still there, they'll surely be gone later this week. If not, Freesat and Sky users could add them in "other channels"... :eek:
I hope not. If they do I will cancel as I'm paying enough for sky as it is plus 12 quid for bt sport. I would be angry if virgin bundled it in their xl pack. I can't get virgin where I am.
No it's good to use all three I agree but just a bit confusing one week French footy on bt sports then the next on espn. I'd change espn and call it bt sports xtra. For American sport and surplus of bt 1 and 2
Meh. ESPN is a bigger brand at the moment, and BT have bought it as an entity, therefore they must be licensing it from the US original company, as such I'm sure part of the agreement was keeping the brand alive here in the UK.
Ian.
There's no confusion to the general sheep public, only to people like us who know about and notice details like this. Anyone who can get BTS1 can get ESPN and vice versa, so it's not as if they won't be able to watch something one week and not the next.
I would also posit that anyone sad / dedicated enough to watch German football week in week out will know where to watch it, when and on what channel, wherever it is.