Why I don't buy into Sky's new focus on entertainment
linkinpark875
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I really don't buy into this new entertainment formula from Sky. Very little has appeal to me. Perhaps now they have lost the Champions League they think they can buy people into entertainment and maybe ITV's new pay channel but it's all the same tripe.
Perhaps it's just me but does anybody here think Sky's new entertainment focus will pay off?
Perhaps it's just me but does anybody here think Sky's new entertainment focus will pay off?
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As ITV Encore hasn't launched yet, how can you call it tripe?
Whilst it may not have launched yet , if past experience of ITV is anything to go by it will indeed be filled with dumbed down TV.
I am afraid past experience is all i have to go on.:)
One of the big challenges for Sky is that it barely seems worth developing their own programming, because most of the shows tend not to get very large viewing figures. So, it makes more sense for them to just buy in the best foreign (primarily US) content.
It's a bit of a shame that some of Sky's good programmes, like Moone Boy, don't draw a larger audience. If it was on e.g. BBC or ITV I could see it doing very well.
Of Sky1's top ten most watched programmes the week ending March 9 (most recent on BARB), eight were US imports.
I would be interested to know how many people sign up for Sky primarily for the original, UK-developed, entertainment content, as opposed to the other factors, which it seems to me would be:
- the sport
- the films
- the US imports
- the wide range of channels
- the convenience of Sky+
- it comes cheap(ish) with broadband
- they're all stupid, they really only watch BBC channels and have just been brainwashed by the evil Murdochs into giving their money away
I guess bringing back the Granada Plus channel to show old repeats of Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm rather than a new ITV drama channel would suit you better.
The sad reality is the vast majority of Sky's homegrown programmes don't rate very well at all. Recent examples being the comedy Doll and Em on Sky Living which mustered a frankly pathetic average of 50,000 for its most recent episode, and even the award winning Moone Boy is posting overnights not much bigger than 100,000. This could rise to nearer to half a million in the official data but they've just cancelled a US import with a similar sized audience and homegrown stuff is more expensive.
Sure, there's the odd success. But they are few and far between. And I'm not convinced an increase in UK programming is going to be a significant factor in determining whether people subscribe or continue their subscriptions.
Modern Family, Hawaii 5-0, Arrow, Revolution, NCIS Los Angeles and The Simpsons are all in the top ten most watched Sky 1 programmes. When the new season of Game of Thrones starts on Sky Atlantic I imagine that will get more than a million viewers, which will make it one of the most, if not the most, watched programme on a Sky entertainment channel.
I would imagine GoT probably does help Sky pick up some extra subscribers, many people who are familiar with it consider it one of the best television programmes ever. I suspect Sky probably have a better idea of what does, and doesn't, help them to land and keep customers than people posting on the broadcasting forum.
They may be in the top ten lost of most watched programmes, but that doesn't mean they're that popular, just happens to be the most watched programmes on a little watched TV channel. Sky don't help themselves by diluting their best shows across three channels. They should concentrate on one channel and making that work before anything else. The branding also needs a shakeup. I would rename sky one as the Sky channel. It will only reinforce their brand.
Like any family is going to sit down and watch graphic beheadings and incest after a hard day's work instead of corrie and eastenders
We are discussing their relative popularity compared to other programmes on Sky.
I think Sky know what they're doing.
There's more to the TV biz than viewing figures.
If they're making their own shows, they get a cut of the DVD/Blu-Ray sales which they wouldn't for imports, similarly they'd get money from on-demand services they don't control (eg Netflix) and take a bigger cut of those they do (Sky Go, Now TV etc), which also strengthens the offering their own services provide.
They can also use it as leverage against acquisitions- negotiating a lower fee because they can just show their own stuff instead, and use them to bump up ratings for other shows by simply creating a better-looking schedule and improving a channel's prestige.
(Also, if you want to be conspiratorial, you could argue that if talent is making content for Sky, they're too busy to make it for the BBC...)
That will be because there isn't as much NEW Original Content airing right now.
Do you start a thread for every single thought that enters your head?
Which of Sky's own developed progamming do you think generates significant DVD sales? I can't think of one.
I do agree with you on that.
Ian.
You mean you have never sat awake at 3.45am and thought about these important matters?:D
Nope, can't say I have. I've got other things to think about
I could be wrong but I am pretty sure that "An Idiot Abroad" has done well with Dvd sales
some ross kemp shows