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UKTV channels set to leave Virgin Media on Sunday

11th August - they’re back (July 2018)

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WH
Whataday Founding member
james-2001 posted:
Whataday posted:
Don't forget it isn't a level playing field: Virgin has just 4m subscribers compared to something like 13m with a Sky subscription


I think what I read over the last week, Sky is more like 10 million than 13. More than Virgin, yes, but Virgin's still got around 40% of the numbers of Sky- which surely would still hurt UKTV, and any other pay TV companies that pull their channels.


It's definitely higher than that, they announced that they hit 12 million in 2015.
JM
JamesM0984
DVB Cornwall posted:
Ofcom to the rescue .....





.... or not.


It'll be interesting to see if they rule that subscribers can leave without penalty. Especially with the news ITV channels may be going too!
:-(
A former member
Alas not people are paying for the premium channels, not the free ones.
JK
JKDerry
If you are on Virgin Media, you are paying for ALL channels. There is no such thing as FREE cable. Freesat offers a free alternative to Sky, however there is no free cable. There is no way you can cancel your contract and enjoy free cable channels without subscription. Virgin will always rake in the money.
JM
JamesM0984
I'm in a cooling-off period at the moment, and furthermore I'm only on the basic TV package. I'm tempted to bin it, just keep the Broadband, and get a Freeview PVR.
ST
Stuart
james-2001 posted:
ITV itself indeed can't be pulled, but ITVs 2-4, Be and the HD and +1 versions can.

Why not? There is an entire thread on here about ITV(1) being absent from Sky Digital in the early years.


The BBC has to appear on all platforms, but the other PSBs don't.
ST
Stuart
james-2001 posted:
They are cabling new areas, because I drove through one area they were doing last year.

Whether anyone will bother subscribing is another question though.

They cabled my road a few years ago. I don't know why it wasn't done when the houses were built in 1997. Everyone already had a Sky dish, so I don't think they've gained many new customers for all the expense of digging up the pavement.
JK
JKDerry
JamesM0984 posted:
I'm in a cooling-off period at the moment, and furthermore I'm only on the basic TV package. I'm tempted to bin it, just keep the Broadband, and get a Freeview PVR.

I am in the same position nearly here. Keep the broadband, and just use my Freesat. Would save a lot of money
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Martin Lewis reports that some people have managed to get out of contracts already

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/family/2018/07/virgin-customers-lose-uktv-channels---heres-what-to-do-if-youre-affected
WH
Whataday Founding member
If ITV pull the main channel from Virgin, could they use STV? I'm guessing there's something blocking that in their affiliate agreement.
ST
Stuart
Whataday posted:
If ITV pull the main channel from Virgin, could they use STV? I'm guessing there's something blocking that in their affiliate agreement.

Surely STV don't have a licence to broadcast in the rest of the UK, other than their own area?

They wouldn't have much of a schedule, and they don't have any structure to sell advertising outside their own area.
KE
kernow
Stuart posted:
Whataday posted:
If ITV pull the main channel from Virgin, could they use STV? I'm guessing there's something blocking that in their affiliate agreement.

Surely STV don't have a licence to broadcast in the rest of the UK, other than their own area?

They wouldn't have much of a schedule, and they don't have any structure to sell advertising outside their own area.

Technically, no, although STV is broadcast to the whole of the UK via satellite (although it's only viewable outside Scotland via manual tuning).

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