Top Up TV, will it survive past 2013?

145791024

Comments

  • TelevisionUserTelevisionUser Posts: 41,404
    Forum Member
    tomee wrote: »
    Sports broadcaster ESPN is reportedly in talks to sell its UK sports rights as speculation over the future of its UK channels mount

    For full story please click my link. http://www.a516digital.com/2013/02/espn-in-uk-rights-sell-off-talks.html

    Thanks to a516

    So this might impact topuptv if ESPN do indeed close some time in 2013.

    Thanks, tomee. If that happens then they'll be left with no sport to offer because BT Vision have already announced that they'll no longer be renting the two Freeview channels that show Sky Sports 1 & 2 but will instead use their own broadband IPTV services to deliver them to customers. There has been mention of July/August this year for that move to happen.
  • linkinpark875linkinpark875 Posts: 29,686
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Thanks, tomee. If that happens then they'll be left with no sport to offer because BT Vision have already announced that they'll no longer be renting the two Freeview channels that show Sky Sports 1 & 2 but will instead use their own broadband IPTV services to deliver them to customers. There has been mention of July/August this year for that move to happen.

    Yes that pretty much finishes off Top Up TV and I assume they won't be putting BT Sports in it's place for TUTV?

    I suspect they may close after investing all in the Anytime service. They could revert back to the old linear style service and launch on the old boxes and maybe introduce some new ones?

    Aside from Sky channels as that won't happen. The best they could offer if they bought the two BT slots would be maybe something like this:

    Slot 1:

    Boomerang 6am - 9am
    Watch 9am - 6pm
    TCM - 6pm - 5am

    Slot 2:

    Cartoon Network 6am - 9am
    MTV 9am - 4pm
    Comedy Central 4pm - 6am

    Slot 3:

    Fox News 6am - 9am
    Universal Channel 9am - 6pm
    Fox 6pm - 6am

    Slot 4:

    6am - 4pm - Discovery Channel
    4pm - 6am GOLD

    That would be 11 channels time shared and offer something different to Freeview but could it hold off any new Freeview launches or future HD? Assuming they opted to bid for an HD channel they could do this:

    9am - 4pm - Watch HD
    4pm - 6pm MTV HD
    6pm - 11pm FOX HD
    11pm - 6am - TCM HD
  • freetoview33freetoview33 Posts: 2,921
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Yes that pretty much finishes off Top Up TV and I assume they won't be putting BT Sports in it's place for TUTV?

    I suspect they may close after investing all in the Anytime service. They could revert back to the old linear style service and launch on the old boxes and maybe introduce some new ones?

    Aside from Sky channels as that won't happen. The best they could offer if they bought the two BT slots would be maybe something like this:

    Slot 1:

    Boomerang 6am - 9am
    Watch 9am - 6pm
    TCM - 6pm - 5am

    Slot 2:

    Cartoon Network 6am - 9am
    MTV 9am - 4pm
    Comedy Central 4pm - 6am

    Slot 3:

    Fox News 6am - 9am
    Universal Channel 9am - 6pm
    Fox 6pm - 6am

    Slot 4:

    6am - 4pm - Discovery Channel
    4pm - 6am GOLD

    That would be 11 channels time shared and offer something different to Freeview but could it hold off any new Freeview launches or future HD? Assuming they opted to bid for an HD channel they could do this:

    9am - 4pm - Watch HD
    4pm - 6pm MTV HD
    6pm - 11pm FOX HD
    11pm - 6am - TCM HD

    Doubt it will happen and if it does it won't be Fox! Maybe Bloomberg and Comedy Central.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 130
    Forum Member
    Very sorry to be losing Channel 34 Sport. I never did like BT.....
  • tomeetomee Posts: 2,891
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
  • viewer btvviewer btv Posts: 111
    Forum Member
    tomee wrote: »

    If ESPN goes then they should bring back Eurosport and have Eurosport 2 as well .I subscribed to Setanta Sports when its was around for a while some years ago and would not mind subscribing for Eurosport 2 if they put Eurosport back on as part of their normal package again
  • joshua_welbyjoshua_welby Posts: 9,017
    Forum Member
    viewer btv wrote: »
    If ESPN goes then they should bring back Eurosport and have Eurosport 2 as well .I subscribed to Setanta Sports when its was around for a while some years ago and would not mind subscribing for Eurosport 2 if they put Eurosport back on as part of their normal package again

    It won't happen, anyway we have Eurosport and Eurosport 2 just under a different name and content, we have British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2 instead
  • 1andrew11andrew1 Posts: 4,088
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    tomee wrote: »
    If the ruling is in BT's favour then it will mean TopUp TV (together with BT and Virgin) will be charged less for Sky Sports by Sky.
  • stuntmasterstuntmaster Posts: 5,070
    Forum Member
    1andrew1 wrote: »
    If the ruling is in BT's favour then it will mean TopUp TV (together with BT and Virgin) will be charged less for Sky Sports by Sky.

    if that happens, sky will only appeal it again and we will be back to square one.
  • 1andrew11andrew1 Posts: 4,088
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    if that happens, sky will only appeal it again and we will be back to square one.
    Surely you can't have continuous appeals or nothing would ever get decided!
  • John896John896 Posts: 145
    Forum Member
    I phoned up tutv this morning to give my 30 days cancellation notice,i have to say i have been pleased with the deal and service i had from them.I had always wanted to see what sky sports 1 and 2,did look like on freeview.
  • 1andrew11andrew1 Posts: 4,088
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Meanwhile TopUp TV's owners Access have just added Kylie's and Coldplay's record label, Parlophone to their Warner Music group for a price of just under £0.5bn.

    Owner Blavatnik "was rumoured to have paid a record $87 million for a Rothko at Christie’s last year and gifted $115 million for the creation of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government."

    http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/russian-billionaire-blavatnik-buys-blur-and-coldplay-in-500m-warners-parlophone-takeover-8485761.html
  • freetoview33freetoview33 Posts: 2,921
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Top UP TV's owners could do a lot to the service they have the money it's just they lack the will to do anything
  • Kipper2Kipper2 Posts: 155
    Forum Member
    DougP wrote: »
    Very sorry to be losing Channel 34 Sport. I never did like BT.....
    If Disney pull ESPN out of Britain (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013/feb/06/disney-considers-espn-exit-uk-sports?INTCMP=SRCH) then BT will be certain to consider putting their channel on Freeview where there are already hundred(s) of thousands of subscribers who for whatever reason dont want Satellite or Cable and are prepared to pay for some sport. Certainly I'd continue subscribing.
    BT paid a lot for the EPL rights and any move that increase revenues in the short term must be considered by them.
    Time will tell.
    Cheers
  • cornishcornish Posts: 290
    Forum Member
    And just why would bt do that when they already have the two sky sports slots,which they have stated are to expensive.:confused:
  • Kipper2Kipper2 Posts: 155
    Forum Member
    The 2 Sky Sports channels make much less economic sense because they have far fewer viewers than ch34.
    BT/TUTV could encourage TopUp customers of ESPN to move across. It's what ESPN/TopUP TV did after Setanta went bust. I dont know who rents ch34 nor for how long and would welcome any informed comments.
  • cornishcornish Posts: 290
    Forum Member
    It won't happen,bt have said its too costly to be on dtt.They are in process of setting up to run sky sports and their own two channels on fiber via their own vision box and later youview.
  • tomeetomee Posts: 2,891
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2276216/Investors-United-States-smarter-says-new-Virgin-Media-boss.html#axzz2KXJ8GS7j
    Meanwhile, BT is believed to be in talks to buy Walt Disney’s ESPN sports-broadcasting business in the UK. It runs three channels in Britain: the flagship ESPN UK-only channel as well as ESPN Classic and ESPN America. It also has a digital business comprising six websites.

    If BT do close the deal and get ESPN i can see them closing ESPN UK down and moving all the sports to there two sports channel and keeping ESPNA & ESPNC and renaming them.
  • 1andrew11andrew1 Posts: 4,088
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    tomee wrote: »
    http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2276216/Investors-United-States-smarter-says-new-Virgin-Media-boss.html#axzz2KXJ8GS7j

    If BT do close the deal and get ESPN i can see them closing ESPN UK down and moving all the sports to there two sports channel and keeping ESPNA & ESPNC and renaming them.
    Another consideration - we don't know what clauses ESPN has in its contract with TopUp TV (and other platforms) - it could be liable for some form of compensation if the channel closes down.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 248
    Forum Member
    cornish wrote: »
    It won't happen,bt have said its too costly to be on dtt.They are in process of setting up to run sky sports and their own two channels on fiber via their own vision box and later youview.

    Yes, but what market penetration will BT Fibre / multicast have reached by Aug 2013.

    We could yet see a temp deal done on these dtt channels until the roll out has reached a sufficient percentage of the customer base?
  • Everything GoesEverything Goes Posts: 12,972
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    Yes, but what market penetration will BT Fibre / multicast have reached by Aug 2013.

    We could yet see a temp deal done on these dtt channels until the roll out has reached a sufficient percentage of the customer base?

    New BT vision customers wanting Sky Sports must sign up to Infinity to get them. On dreams of Sky Sports on DTT and Top Up Tv surviving much longer are fantasy im afraid!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 248
    Forum Member
    New BT vision customers wanting Sky Sports must sign up to Infinity to get them. On dreams of Sky Sports on DTT and Top Up Tv surviving much longer are fantasy im afraid!

    Yes but how are current bt vision customers going to react if they are thrown off sky sports in August purely because they live in areas not yet covered by infinity / multicast?
  • 1andrew11andrew1 Posts: 4,088
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Yes but how are current bt vision customers going to react if they are thrown off sky sports in August purely because they live in areas not yet covered by infinity / multicast?
    I think that's not going to happen as I'm sure there will be a fairly long transistion phase. However, if it did this it could end up in the situation that some of its customers will be able to get SkySports but not BT Sport. Perhaps it can get temporary DTT capacity for its own channels, certainly ESPN 34 could be free.

    Those who predict BT will switch off DTT broadcasting quickly on cost grounds need to consider that these DTT channels cost £10m each per year - relatively insignificant against the investment in sports rights to date which are creeping up towards the £bn mark.
  • VisionMan1VisionMan1 Posts: 2,111
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    Yes but how are current bt vision customers going to react if they are thrown off sky sports in August purely because they live in areas not yet covered by infinity / multicast?

    Badly.

    And they'll just leave.

    But where any business in concerned, it's a numbers game. BTV users only number at 750,000, but there are now over 12m homes capable of accessing BT fibre. And upon last checking, 1.25m had already done so. And, in testing, the Sky Sports channels are already live on BT's fibre network. So they are coming.
  • VisionMan1VisionMan1 Posts: 2,111
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    1andrew1 wrote: »
    I think that's not going to happen as I'm sure there will be a fairly long transistion phase. However, if it did this it could end up in the situation that some of its customers will be able to get SkySports but not BT Sport. Perhaps it can get temporary DTT capacity for its own channels, certainly ESPN 34 could be free.

    Those who predict BT will switch off DTT broadcasting quickly on cost grounds need to consider that these DTT channels cost £10m each per year - relatively insignificant against the investment in sports rights to date which are creeping up towards the £bn mark.

    And the above is a very important point you state 1andrew1. And I also believe they'll be an overlap of these channels on both IPTV and DTT. Certainly until at least until Sept, and perhaps beyond.
Sign In or Register to comment.