How long left for Tiscali TV?
Paper Doll
Posts: 3,398 Forum Member
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Had a call from TalkTalk today and was told that they don't do TV (which is odd as they are selling it on their website) and that our Tiscali boxes will become freeview boxes and I should sign up with a TalkTalk package.
And given that TalkTalk have announced that they're not investing in Tiscali TV how long do you think the service will last for?
Not in a Sky broadband area so I can't sign up for a cheap deal with them, so looks like it's going to be back to freeview with no Sky 1, FX or comedy central.
And given that TalkTalk have announced that they're not investing in Tiscali TV how long do you think the service will last for?
Not in a Sky broadband area so I can't sign up for a cheap deal with them, so looks like it's going to be back to freeview with no Sky 1, FX or comedy central.
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http://broadband.talktalk.co.uk/
But I'm not the most observant
I suppose there must be small print in our contracts saying that we haven't got a leg to stand on
parthena
Whats this? found in 2 seconds with a search on google with "Talktalk tv"
parthena
I think the OPs mis-informed call was just the age old problem of rubbish call centre staff.
and I'm always happy to instruct you on the correct use of tinternet.:)
As an AOL broadband customer and after being told they will not offer TalkTalk TV to me, having looking at alternatives and deciding to keep to Sky TV with a set upgrade, the Sky helpdesk is very good and the guy I spoke said they were being given demos of the new 3D system.
You do not have to have Sky broadband with Sky TV!
After having major problems a few years ago seems TalkTalk TV expansion might be being held back and low key until they get their networks, sales and service team sorted, hopefully up to Sky's standard!
But for TalkTalk to treat existing Tiscali TV customers with misinformation and suggest going to Freeview is bad!
There seems to be a number for the existing TV service 0800 107 9000
https://www.talktalk.co.uk/members/myaccount/upgrade/upgrade.html
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-carphone-warehouse-no-tv-push-until-canvas-is-ready/
CEO Charles Dunstone said: “It would be foolhardy to deliver our own TV proposition against Freeview, Sky and Virgin. We have to accept our heritage is not in TV.
“We have a much better chance of succeeding alongside the PSBs with [Project] Canvas when it is ready... It would be much more foolhardy to go and invest money in a product I’m not sure we could make competitive.”
“It’s very early days…We’ve signed up to say if Canvas comes into being we would be a part of it. At this stage we haven’t made any decisions or commented on what we would sell, for example moving Tiscali services…We will update plans on Canvas as its future is more certain.”
This is higher than Tiscali charged, but still cheaper than basic Sky TV (£18 pm), but we don't know what the contract between Sky and Tiscali was for the channels. BT Vision think the price for Sky wants for it's channels is too high and Tiscali might have been paying too much for the Sky channels running at a loss for the 70,000 (estimated) Tiscali TV subscribers!
From paidcontent does not sound as if Charles Dunstone wants to have a fight with Sky over TV and may keep the TalkTalk TV service and Canvas low key and concentrate on broadband and phone provision!!. Especially as TalkTalk/AOL still needs to improve customer services!!.
Guess it might also depend if BT and Virgin maybe gets the soon to be announced Ofcom pay TV ruling in their favour to carry Sky channels at a lower cost!
However BT, VM and Sky are now pushing "triple play" bundles heavily, so TalkTalk/AOL may not want to wait too long before getting the new TV service on the Canvas platform where any Canvas enabled STB or TV can be used rather than the current Talktalk+ PVR!
He told me that he had three installations that morning and had a regular number scheduled for the coming few weeks - as far as he was concerned at least, the service is still being sold..
It's just an opinion this, but it would seem logical for Talk Talk to keep the existing service going until some consensus is reached on Canvas, especially since the infrastructure exists and is generally working well.
Once they've integrated the Tiscali, Talk Talk & AOL networks, they'll no doubt have a better idea of what they're dealing with and will be able to make a more informed decision on which way to go.
Either way though, I fear it'll turn into a predominately on-demand service with Freeview only, which would be a great shame as I personally like watching the additional channels 'off-air' as well as being able to stream OD stuff.
To my mind, this is what makes Tiscali/TalkTalk such a unique service & I really hope that they realise this.
Regards,
DW.
parthena
Talk Talk is likely to become a fully fledged TV operator in early 2011.
www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9170d9e6-0cd7-11df-b8eb-00144feabdc0.html
www.cpwplc.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=123964&p=irol-demerger
The innovators who set up Video Networks [Homechoice] are likely spinning in their professional graves already, given how little subsequent owners have invested in or promoted what is already a good product, could be a great one, and deserves to be popular amongst more than just a niche in the know.
Talk Talk and Tiscali before them have no business whining about how their 'heritage is not in TV': they bought a company with a TV element so have a responsibility to its current customers and should have the competitive balls to popularise and innovate it rather than quaking in Rupert Murdoch's ugly shadow.
The current system also probably is losing money so they will want to trim costs to get a good return for their money which may mean renegocating content deals with VM, Sky and others!
They also seem to want to get the demerger from CPW sorted as a priority!
Interesting item in the Times about Sky which is relavent!
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article7005769.ece
Charles Dunstone, CEO of Carphone Warehouse, hasn't given up on the dream of being a quad-player, after revealing plans to launch TV and mobile TalkTalk services.
The details came during a call following up on announced plans to split Carphone Warehouse into two companies - TalkTalk and New Carphone Warehouse, as reported by the Financial Times. TalkTalk will launch a Canvas-based TV service, and look to become an MVNO, over then next year or two.
The TV service comes as no surprise - Carphone Warehouse inherited a successful TV service when it bought Tiscali, and, after leaving staff in suspense for a week or two, decided to invest in the service with a view to becoming a TV provider.
TalkTalk has a lot more unbundled exchanges than Tiscali ever had, which opens up a whole lot more potential customers for the TV service - only unbundled exchanges can offer the guaranteed quality of service necessary for streamed TV. Just to emphasis that commitment, TalkTalk has signed up to Project Canvas - the standard streamed-TV platform - with promises of a rapid migration.
Launching a Mobile Virtual Network Operator is also no great surprise. Buying network capacity in bulk and reselling under your own brand works well if your brand is big enough to negotiate hard with the network operators. Virgin and Tesco have very successful MVNOs, but it would have been difficult for Carphone Warehouse to have operated an MVNO while claiming to be independent and selling contracts on the other networks. This problem would disappear with the forthcoming division.
These offerings will make TalkTalk into a "quad player" - offering fixed and mobile telephony as well as TV and broadband. It is what one needs to be these days to be taken seriously as a provider of consumer services.
Here's the page link:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/01/talk_talk_tv/
Now start advertising the product please TT!
Yes but if your auntie is moving home then presumably re-setting her up with TalkTalk TV would constitute a "new customer" at least in so far as the installation etc. with a new phone line is concerned. And we already know that TalkTalk are not giving the TV service to new customers at the moment.
So your comment isn't really adding anything, it's just another example of sales staff using the word "discontinued" when we don't really know what they mean, quite possibly there is just confusion among the call centre staff? If the service is being completely discontinued, why hasn't anything official been announced? Furthermore, why have TT rebranded everything and joined the Canvas group? Not the actions of a company just planning on ditching the product.
All the indications are that things are unaffected for existing customers - I guess in so far as having the service is concerned it's just not a good time to move house! So your auntie is unlucky in that regard.
But unless these kind of comments can be fleshed out with specifics I think they're unhelpful scaremongering personally.
It would be useful if someone from TalkTalk could come here to fully clarify the situation, of course.
hardware standard and so it would be pointles for TT to buy more Telsey boxes to suppy new customers when they would have to change them all in the future,seems like good business practise to me.
Or is your Auntie moving out of the IPTV catchment area?
Brett
No she lives in sheltered housing and is moving from an upstairs flat in one block to a downstairs block not 2 minutes walk away, due to disability.
Kind Regards