Why do I have to have a gazillion Sky Channels...

[.Mark]

...When I only want maybe one or two?

Say I wanted the National Geographic Channel, Gold and a movie channel, why on earth do I need to buy 'packages' with general toss on them?

Surely in this technological day and age they can selectively let me have exactly what I want?

[GG89]

I'd imagine it's just not profitable enough for the companys to allow individual channel selection.

[OldSkoolRS]

I'd imagine that some channels wouldn't be chosen by many, but by them being included as part of a package it helps to bulk up the deal and make it seem more than it is. Let's face it, they wouldn't advertise something like 'Sign up to our 3 great channels plus 10 more dross ones!' when they could say 'This package includes 13 Sky exclusive channels'. I know there are more channels than this, but you get the idea...

[oldcynic]

I remember years back I had NTL cable specifically to watch Ally McBeal. It moved to E4, I had to go digital to get E4 and ended up with a whole bundle of channels I never watched. Long story short: quality was dire, customer service rivalled LBS clamping, I bailed after about 3 months and just bought it on video from the supermarket about 6 months after transmission.

So NTL got less money out of me for trying to charge me more - albeit for lots more channels (which I didn't want to watch), and I got to watch what I wanted at my convenience. They did send repeated debt collecting & solicitors' letters chasing me for £9 or so for about a year after that which I duly ignored.

Now I don't even have a TV licence. I use lovefilm.com, iPlayer, itv.com, 4OD for free across the internet and discs delivered to my door instead.

[PaulG40]

Ive a gazillion Sky (well, virgin really) Channels, and there's bugger all on any of them at the moment!

[.Mark]

GG89 said:

I'd imagine it's just not profitable enough for the companys to allow individual channel selection.

Well of course that's true, but how many people like me don't bother because we don't want the dross, but would pay a fiver a month would pay for a few select channels?

[.Mark]

oldcynic said:

Now I don't even have a TV licence. I use lovefilm.com, iPlayer, itv.com, 4OD for free across the internet and discs delivered to my door instead.

I think I'm right in saying you need a TV Licence if you have a laptop now, because they have the ability to watch 'live' TV.

Not sure how they'd ever know.

[oldcynic]

.Mark said:

oldcynic said:

Now I don't even have a TV licence. I use lovefilm.com, iPlayer, itv.com, 4OD for free across the internet and discs delivered to my door instead.

I think I'm right in saying you need a TV Licence if you have a laptop now, because they have the ability to watch 'live' TV.

Not sure how they'd ever know.

Not so.

The licence is for watching live broadcasts, not the ability to watch live broadcasts. Our TV has been inspected by the chap from TV licencing, who tried several channels and found nothing but white noise. He probably also noticed a cabinet full of pre-recorded DVD's & video tapes. We have stopped receiving threatening letters from TV licencing since this visit.

We use 3 laptops, 1 desktop and a Wii for watching time-delayed broadcasts without a licence, and it's entirely legal - despite the Wii being connected to a TV which could receive broadcast TV if I connected an aerial and tuned the channels.

[.Mark]

oldcynic said:

.Mark said:

oldcynic said:

Now I don't even have a TV licence. I use lovefilm.com, iPlayer, itv.com, 4OD for free across the internet and discs delivered to my door instead.

I think I'm right in saying you need a TV Licence if you have a laptop now, because they have the ability to watch 'live' TV.

Not sure how they'd ever know.

Not so.

The licence is for watching live broadcasts, not the ability to watch live broadcasts. Our TV has been inspected by the chap from TV licencing, who tried several channels and found nothing but white noise. He probably also noticed a cabinet full of pre-recorded DVD's & video tapes. We have stopped receiving threatening letters from TV licencing since this visit.

We use 3 laptops, 1 desktop and a Wii for watching time-delayed broadcasts without a licence, and it's entirely legal - despite the Wii being connected to a TV which could receive broadcast TV if I connected an aerial and tuned the channels.

I stand corrected Sir, and happy to do so.

[qube_TA]

UK TV is massively out of date IMO, in the US as soon as any programme is 'released' i.e broadcast on any network it's available to buy on PPV on iTunes or equivalent for a few cents. But they're not allowed to do the same in the UK as the likes of Sky have bought the rights and will only allow the online purchase once they've done with the entire series and then want a cut which makes it more expensive than buying the DVD boxed set.

I usually just download shows from the Internet instead as there's no way to legally watch something without paying a fortune to Sky (and even then there's no guarantee that they'll have the programmes I want to watch).

If you could buy TV programmes as they're released direct from the production company online you could completely do away with the TV stations and only ever specifically pay for what you want to watch, a new episode of something could have an instant global release.

This would have the added bonus of programmes you like not being cancelled as if enough money is made from direct subscription to a show then they'd keep making it.