"It is understood ITV Encore will air exclusively on Sky for at least 18 months, as the pay-TV giant seeks exclusive content in its battle with resurgent BT."
Tbh, mlt11, I'm not sure that that one channel in itself will make that much of a difference in the ongoing Sky vs. BT skirmish. I assume that, like Sky Atlantic, it will be available to every Sky subscriber.
As for free to air viewers of one sort or another, I suppose the only effect of this new channel is that it will take longer for series and one-off dramas to filter down to ITV3.
It would be good if itv encore included drama from past itv franchise holders and would show drama that itv chose to axe in favour of the current line up on itv
What would ITV gain by not offering it to VM and BT customers? Especially when Sky's future looks uncertain...
ITV would not gain the extra money which Sky will pay them to keep it Sky exclusive for a period of time v carriage payments from BT, VM and increased advertising.
Sky's just annoounced some great results. There may be speculation about its ownership but its future looks good to me.
Sky's results are good. Sky looks to have an excellent future.
I used to think that but when BT Sport bet the house for full and exclusive rights for UCL and UEL (thus their EPL bid was not a one-off) for more then double the price I changed my mind.
Basically BT is eating its lunch when it comes to Sports rights (thanks to Sky growing strength when it comes to Broadband) and Netflix is likely to do the same for Film and TV rights...
Something has got to give between BT and Sky (espcially if BT also get involved in Film and TV rights) and BT has shown they are prepaired to pay more than Sky could ever afford...
I used to think that but when BT Sport bet the house for full and exclusive rights for UCL and UEL (thus their EPL bid was not a one-off) for more then double the price I changed my mind.
Basically BT is eating its lunch when it comes to Sports rights (thanks to Sky growing strength when it comes to Broadband) and Netflix is likely to do the same for Film and TV rights...
Something has got to give between BT and Sky (espcially if BT also get involved in Film and TV rights) and BT has shown they are prepaired to pay more than Sky could ever afford...
Losing Champions League is a blow to Sky, but they still have a far bigger sports rights portfolio than BT. BT may have some decent viewing figures for some sports at the moment, but that is on the back of them esseintially giving the channel away for free to people who also have BT broadband. Maybe they think it is a sustainable business model to pay way over the odds for sports rights at the same time they don't charge for subscription, but I doubt that's the case.
Sky meanwhile seems to hold fairly steady in terms of number of UK homes with at least one of their services. Their profits were announced this week as down 8% (due to the increased cost of Premiership rights), but still a fairly robust £500 million. They still have the rights to a lot of US programmes, one of the very few worthwile they missed is Breaking Bad, but then so did every other UK channel. Netflix don't actually have a great movie selection, Sky still gets the rights to the vast majority of the new releases, and as far as I can tell they get them on air before anyone else.
Sky will be here for the next 20+ years, of that I am very confident.
Losing Champions League is a blow to Sky, but they still have a far bigger sports rights portfolio than BT. BT may have some decent viewing figures for some sports at the moment, but that is on the back of them esseintially giving the channel away for free to people who also have BT broadband. Maybe they think it is a sustainable business model to pay way over the odds for sports rights at the same time they don't charge for subscription, but I doubt that's the case
The recent bidding process for European Football was in my view historic, for the first time we have seen a comapny willing to outbid them for sports rights and to a considerable margin. They do still have a bigger sports rights portfolio than BT, but this is a legacy when Sky always had the highest bid for any sports rights of their choosing, that era is now gone.
When I first heard about BT's earler EPL rights bid (the highest of all time) I thought that they where making a big mistake against BSkyB and that it will all end in tears and losses, but when I looked closer I looked at the broadband rivalry between the two and their finances and understood why they did it.
My views changed when they paid more than double the previous rate for all the UCL/UEL rights (far higher than what Sky where willing to pay) and looked to see that BT was taking very seriously (unlike ESPN, Setanta and ITV Digital) and had the money to push this through.
That is when I thought Sky have basically shot themsevles in the foot taking on BT and with the delcine of Murodoch, they seem to be unwilling to fight to the death with BT.
I agree with you that BT Sports business model is a diaster, but BT are willing to bet the whole company because they see this has s way to keep Sky at bay and secure their future and they are willing to do it to the bitter end because falling behind Sky is not good for their future.
Sky meanwhile seems to hold fairly steady in terms of number of UK homes with at least one of their services. Their profits were announced this week as down 8% (due to the increased cost of Premiership rights), but still a fairly robust £500 million. They still have the rights to a lot of US programmes, one of the very few worthwile they missed is Breaking Bad, but then so did every other UK channel. Netflix don't actually have a great movie selection, Sky still gets the rights to the vast majority of the new releases, and as far as I can tell they get them on air before anyone else.
I am not saying that they are in serious financial trouble, but the glory days for them to me have all but ended. Their film and television rights are doing much better and remain dominant, but even here the future looks at best challenging.
Firstly you have to remember that this is early days for Netflix and they will likely to slowly build up their content over time, in other words they will start to challenge Sky in this front as well and I still would not rule out BT getting involved as well in their "destory Sky" project.
As for Breaking Bad well that was a massive mistake in the long run (C5 and FX used to have it) and explains why Sony TV launched their own channel...
Sky will be here for the next 20+ years, of that I am very confident.
The world of technology and entertainment has changed in 20 years on a large scale and the same will apply to the next 20 years, who would have thought that Murdoch will fall, TV does stories better than film and BT would be buying Sports Rights in 1994?
The way I see it there are 2 options for Sky:
1: Retreat from Sports Broadcasting and focus their efforts on Film and TV Rights
2: Adopt BT policy and push it to the extreme (which might push the company into BK and would likely need a parent company willing to fund it all)
Plus if Vodafone or another company (apart from 21st Century Fox) does end up buying BSkyB, they might ditch the brand in favour of their own...
I can see this really pushing BT towards buying Channel 5
That would be a very welcome development. That way they could show a live FTA Champions League match and weekly highlights package, and maybe a Europa Cup match as well.
Comments
Tbh, mlt11, I'm not sure that that one channel in itself will make that much of a difference in the ongoing Sky vs. BT skirmish. I assume that, like Sky Atlantic, it will be available to every Sky subscriber.
As for free to air viewers of one sort or another, I suppose the only effect of this new channel is that it will take longer for series and one-off dramas to filter down to ITV3.
What would ITV gain by not offering it to VM and BT customers? Especially when Sky's future looks uncertain...
Sky's just annoounced some great results. There may be speculation about its ownership but its future looks good to me.
Sky's results are good. Sky looks to have an excellent future.
Ian.
I used to think that but when BT Sport bet the house for full and exclusive rights for UCL and UEL (thus their EPL bid was not a one-off) for more then double the price I changed my mind.
Basically BT is eating its lunch when it comes to Sports rights (thanks to Sky growing strength when it comes to Broadband) and Netflix is likely to do the same for Film and TV rights...
Something has got to give between BT and Sky (espcially if BT also get involved in Film and TV rights) and BT has shown they are prepaired to pay more than Sky could ever afford...
And ITV's is now Sky grubby little lap dog. Thank god that ITV (1) is PSB or they would have that locked up behind Sky's paywall as well.
Locking up what should be free only encourages downloading. It's all so much simpler and with the adverts cut out.
Losing Champions League is a blow to Sky, but they still have a far bigger sports rights portfolio than BT. BT may have some decent viewing figures for some sports at the moment, but that is on the back of them esseintially giving the channel away for free to people who also have BT broadband. Maybe they think it is a sustainable business model to pay way over the odds for sports rights at the same time they don't charge for subscription, but I doubt that's the case.
Sky meanwhile seems to hold fairly steady in terms of number of UK homes with at least one of their services. Their profits were announced this week as down 8% (due to the increased cost of Premiership rights), but still a fairly robust £500 million. They still have the rights to a lot of US programmes, one of the very few worthwile they missed is Breaking Bad, but then so did every other UK channel. Netflix don't actually have a great movie selection, Sky still gets the rights to the vast majority of the new releases, and as far as I can tell they get them on air before anyone else.
Sky will be here for the next 20+ years, of that I am very confident.
The recent bidding process for European Football was in my view historic, for the first time we have seen a comapny willing to outbid them for sports rights and to a considerable margin. They do still have a bigger sports rights portfolio than BT, but this is a legacy when Sky always had the highest bid for any sports rights of their choosing, that era is now gone.
When I first heard about BT's earler EPL rights bid (the highest of all time) I thought that they where making a big mistake against BSkyB and that it will all end in tears and losses, but when I looked closer I looked at the broadband rivalry between the two and their finances and understood why they did it.
My views changed when they paid more than double the previous rate for all the UCL/UEL rights (far higher than what Sky where willing to pay) and looked to see that BT was taking very seriously (unlike ESPN, Setanta and ITV Digital) and had the money to push this through.
That is when I thought Sky have basically shot themsevles in the foot taking on BT and with the delcine of Murodoch, they seem to be unwilling to fight to the death with BT.
I agree with you that BT Sports business model is a diaster, but BT are willing to bet the whole company because they see this has s way to keep Sky at bay and secure their future and they are willing to do it to the bitter end because falling behind Sky is not good for their future.
I am not saying that they are in serious financial trouble, but the glory days for them to me have all but ended. Their film and television rights are doing much better and remain dominant, but even here the future looks at best challenging.
Firstly you have to remember that this is early days for Netflix and they will likely to slowly build up their content over time, in other words they will start to challenge Sky in this front as well and I still would not rule out BT getting involved as well in their "destory Sky" project.
As for Breaking Bad well that was a massive mistake in the long run (C5 and FX used to have it) and explains why Sony TV launched their own channel...
The world of technology and entertainment has changed in 20 years on a large scale and the same will apply to the next 20 years, who would have thought that Murdoch will fall, TV does stories better than film and BT would be buying Sports Rights in 1994?
The way I see it there are 2 options for Sky:
1: Retreat from Sports Broadcasting and focus their efforts on Film and TV Rights
2: Adopt BT policy and push it to the extreme (which might push the company into BK and would likely need a parent company willing to fund it all)
Plus if Vodafone or another company (apart from 21st Century Fox) does end up buying BSkyB, they might ditch the brand in favour of their own...
In the OP it says they will be mking new content for it and showing that from next year so not entirely a repeats channel
PJ
Then total stupidity to call it "Encore" (The French for AGAIN) for a channel that will show new stuff.
Sometimes I wonder what happens at these board meetings by over-paid morons.
That would be a very welcome development. That way they could show a live FTA Champions League match and weekly highlights package, and maybe a Europa Cup match as well.
Totally agree