[Article] BSkyB commits to free Sky One

DMC

Hmmmm.

BSkyB commits to free Sky One

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1045634,00.html

Dan Milmo
Friday September 19, 2003

BSkyB would launch an audacious bid to take on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five with a free version of Sky One if digital terrestrial TV became widespread in the UK, a senior executive at the pay-TV group admitted today.

Richard Freudenstein, the chief operating officer of BSkyB, said it "made sense" to turn the Sky Travel channel on Freeview into an entertainment channel if the government target of switching off the analogue TV signal by 2010 was reached.

Free-to-air digital services would be installed in 12 million UK homes if switch-off was achieved, according to a report unveiled at the Royal Television Society Cambridge convention today.

"I think if that scenario happened where there was fast growth for Freeview... Sky Travel would evolve. We would invest more in it over time," he said.

"It absolutely makes sense. With that level of free-to-air viewing we can afford to invest more in the channel," he said.

It is the first time a BSkyB executive has publicly committed to launching a free version of Sky One, dubbed 'channel 6' because it would be the UK's sixth free mainstream television channel.

Channel 6 was first mooted a year ago when BSkyB snatched Dawn Airey from Channel Five and announced the launch of several new channels, including the travel channel.

Many in the industry have suspected that the travel channel, one of three BSkyB services on Freeview, is a Trojan horse for launching a free version of Sky One.

However, Mr Freudenstein warned that it was "unlikely" the government would achieve digital switch-off by 2010.

The report, called "The End Game", forecasts that if digital switch-off happened by 2010, Freeview would be in 10 million homes, BSkyB would have 9 million subscribers and cable TV would have 5 million digital customers.

The new channel 6 could be a formidable rival to ITV, Five and Channel 4.

Delegates at the RTS convention today heard predictions that BSkyB would be the single biggest and richest broadcaster in 2010 with £1bn more cash than the BBC.

It would earn an astonishing £3.6bn a year from pay-TV and, according to media commentator Mathew Horsman, one of the authors of the report, would have £1bn to spare in cashflow from 2007.

This would put it head and shoulders above its rivals in terms of its ability to invest in original programming, particularly high-cost entertainment and drama.

spongebob

Originally posted by DMC
Hmmmm.

BSkyB commits to free Sky One

(yadda snipped - M)

This would put it head and shoulders above its rivals in terms of its ability to invest in original programming, particularly high-cost entertainment and drama.

I am stunned that an ICDG Mod could post that last bit with no sense of irony :ninja: .

Please repeat after me!

All profit goes to Murdoch
All profit goes to Murdoch
All profit goes to Murdoch
All profit goes to Murdoch
All profit goes to Murdoch
All profit goes to Murdoch

There , don't you feel much better now.

M

DMC

to invest in original programming, particularly high-cost entertainment and drama.

Dream Team, Mile High, Everything Uncovered anyone?

telecinesk

So what.
Didnt sky do us all a favour when they re encrypted back in analogue days after murdoch took it over.
Oh joy another terrestrial channel for my friend in the uk to avoid... yawn

watty

medja gridiron does another badly researched, pro Sky, misleading article.

This is like dog bites man.


If they did a balanced, informed article that would be like "man bites dog"

Zzzzzzz....

sceptre

Originally posted by DMC
Dream Team

Lots of fit women on Dream Team. And it has some semblance of a storyline

carrolls

Watching Sky One is something akin to sticking needles in my eyes (from what I imagine sticking needles in my eyes is like).;)
Too many advert breaks, too many trailers. They can unencrypt it or whatever. I'm not pushed either way. You'd swear that they were offering the Holy Grail of broadcasting entertainment by the tone of the above announcement. On the whole Sky One is crass rubbish.:)

Capt'n Midnight

Just pointed out in another post that sky repeat the simpsons every 8 hours... with the BBC it used to be about every 8 years..

read it again if the government target of switching off the analogue TV signal by 2010 was reached.
So if the UK Gov't kill off analog then the SKY might not charge - that's a fair deal for the consumer.

RANT
BBC and SKy show the same program (Star Trek / 2 x Simpsons) the Beeb can show in 50 minutes (and that's with a what's on next ad) where as SKY still cut into the credits when given an hour to show it.

PS. the uncovered stuff has also been shown on C4.