ITV FTA decision: Not before April...

Colm80

ITV fired up another one of there transponders today 10.714 H SR 22.0 FEC 5/6 with a Willam Road test card on it Service-1 and its comeing in FTA. Is this the start of something or just good old fashion testing going on.

irishgeo

Colm80 wrote:

ITV fired up another one of there transponders today 10.714 H SR 22.0 FEC 5/6 with a Willam Road test card on it Service-1 and its comeing in FTA. Is this the start of something or just good old fashion testing going on.

We live in hope. most likely the 2nd explanation.

Charles Slane

the latest news -

ITV, Sky carriage row continues on
Saturday, January 29 2005, 01:26 GMT -- by Neil Wilkes



ITV has signed another temporary renewal to its carriage contract with Sky as the dispute between the two broadcasters rumbles on.

The extension will run through April, when independent regulator Ofcom is expected to report back on the situation.

ITV asked Ofcom to investigate what it called "unfair, unreasonable and unduly discriminatory" terms offered by Sky for the regionalisation of ITV1 across the UK. Sky is asking for an estimated £17m for ITV's encryption and regionalisation, in comparison to the £4m the BBC pays for regionalisation alone.

ITV confirmed today that the existing contract had been renewed for a further three months pending Ofcom's ruling. "ITV has agreed a further temporary extension to its existing regionalisation and encryption deal with BSkyB," a spokesman told C21.

"[This] means that ITV1 continues to be regionalised and, unless it opts otherwise, encrypted on the digital satellite platform pending the outcome of Ofcom’s investigation into the price BSkyB should charge ITV1 for the provision of a regionalisation service only."

brian boro

''......the price BSkyB should charge ITV1 for the provision of a regionalisation service ONLY."

It's clear now that ITV is going FTA by May, at the latest, and possibly earlier.

DMC

Nice one Charles, thread renamed (again)

channelsurfer

crosses My fingers ok it looks like they will go fta in may but what if ofcom allows sky to charge em 17million will itv just walk away from the contract and go free to air without an epg listing? or remain encrypted

irishgeo

I think its a certainty.

Tony

would not go quite that far but i hope your right

SkepticOne

It certainly suits ITV in their negotiations to publically make out that they are prepared to make do with just the EPG deal even if what they actually want is the full encryption. Puts more pressure on Sky to accomodate them.

With the Universal deal and the Ofcom request, it is increasingly in Sky's interest to offer full encryption on favourable terms to ITV.

BrianD

I am just curious to know how things will pan out in the event that both BBC and ITV go to FTA and how will it affect Sky Digital. Less face it with out RTE (in Ireland), BBC and ITV Sky would have a difficult job picking up subscribers. All the other channels including their own sports and movie channels are viewed as addons to the core offering - the old fashioned terrestrial channels.

Sky Digital's key product is the EPG the consumer interface that makes the whole satellite proposition inviting. You don't have to search about for transponders and the EPG gives you an overview of the entire channel offering. If it wasn't there chances are you wouldn't watch the half of it.

So will the BBC and ITV still be on the Sky EPG in the future? If different boxes are required to get a select group of channels I think the proposition of Sky Digital will wane. It will no longer be an attractive option. People want their telly from the one point.

Having said that I am not a satellite TV user so I haven't checked up too much on the ins and outs of FTA but perhaps it can be debated further in this forum. I assume that the Beed is still on the Sky EPG even though they are FTA.

It will also be interesting to see how the programme rights owners react to FTA. The BBC (and ITV to a certain extent) have a bit of clout given that they produce themselves a large amount of their output. The BBC did lose '24' to ITV because the Beed is FTA and terms couldn't be agreed.

channelsurfer

bbc lost 24 to sky(a murdoch owned company) and the fta issue was just an excuse used by fox to sell it to sky. in fact bbc pulled out of the bidding for 24 because fox increased the priced by a huge amount that only sky would match. it was sort of a get even thing with the bbc for going fta.
itv could go fta if they wanted to its just that the regional access issue is what they really need to ensure it remains tht utv is shown in the north and itv london in london

BrianD

That's certainly not the word in the trade re 24 though I can understand the corporate connections. The regional access is purely a commercial decision to ensure that each franchise maintains its direct advertising business. The rights issue i.e that fact that ITV is available outside of the UK FTA will ultimately prolong the delay if not make it impossible.

Macy

Whilst it looks good on the face of it, I remain hopeful rather than certain ITV will go FTA. They're looking for a price for regionalisation - maybe they have a break down of both costs from sky, and hope to bring down the total by getting the £4 million regionalisation? Fingers crossed its just pessimist in me....

BrianD, don't understand the last sentence, but the only rights issue's the BBC have suffered is from Murdoch controlled companies. It didn't effect them getting the Premier League highlights, FA Cup etc up against an encrypted company (i.e. ITV). It's obviously not a deal breaker...

Macy

Just came across an article that ITV share price rose on the back of rumours of a Greg Dyke lead take over. It was a couple weeks old, but if that came about pre decision day then it'd obviously swing it favour of ITV going FTA. Sorry I can't give a link, as the forum is now blocked....

Couch Potato

Looks like it rumbles on

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds18799.html

TV, Sky carriage row continues on
Saturday, January 29 2005, 01:26 GMT -- by Neil Wilkes

ITV has signed another temporary renewal to its carriage contract with Sky as the dispute between the two broadcasters rumbles on.

The extension will run through April, when independent regulator Ofcom is expected to report back on the situation.

ITV asked Ofcom to investigate what it called "unfair, unreasonable and unduly discriminatory" terms offered by Sky for the regionalisation of ITV1 across the UK. Sky is asking for an estimated £17m for ITV's encryption and regionalisation, in comparison to the £4m the BBC pays for regionalisation alone.

ITV confirmed today that the existing contract had been renewed for a further three months pending Ofcom's ruling. "ITV has agreed a further temporary extension to its existing regionalisation and encryption deal with BSkyB," a spokesman told C21.

"[This] means that ITV1 continues to be regionalised and, unless it opts otherwise, encrypted on the digital satellite platform pending the outcome of Ofcom’s investigation into the price BSkyB should charge ITV1 for the provision of a regionalisation service only."

Colm80

Very good. But I think Charles Slane might off got in before you on this one.

Couch Potato

Sorry Charles .. .

Charles Slane

No bother ! It's all about sharing the info

Colm80

2 I think new regions of ITV 1 can be found here 10.714 GHz Hor. SR:22000 FEC:5/6
both have now and next info but FTV only. Is this the start of something or just me getting excited again.

6300
ITV1 Tyne Tees
ITV1 Anglia

Lennoxschips

How do you regionalise your BBC without a card? When BBC went FTA it was said that Sky would add a menu allowing you to select a region, but this never happened. I still get BBC London on 101. (Not that I could care less, but I'm sure there are people in the UK that want to be able to view their local nesws).

Charles Slane

Looks like it's just sub-regions being added on a transponder. If they were FTA like the original test (showing Meridian) was, we might have something to celebrate, but it seems not.

Macy

Charles Slane wrote:

Looks like it's just sub-regions being added on a transponder. If they were FTA like the original test (showing Meridian) was, we might have something to celebrate, but it seems not.

Wouldn't really expect them too, tbh, before the ofcom decision. Could be good news if they're playing increased sub regions as a benefit of being FTA, as I think the BBC did?

d-j-k

Remember ITV sell ads on a regional basis. There is no way that the various channels that make-up the ITV network will want people to be able to pick channels from outside their own region as it will impact on ad revenues

Channel 4 also sell ad spots on a regional basis.

It makes no difference to the BBC if people in Bristol are watching BBC London.. It's 100% licence fee funded anyway and doesn't need to sell any ads.

Mossy Monk

d-j-k wrote:

There is no way that the various channels that make-up the ITV network will want people to be able to pick channels from outside their own region as it will impact on ad revenues

but viewers can already through other channels

Macy

d-j-k wrote:

Remember ITV sell ads on a regional basis. There is no way that the various channels that make-up the ITV network will want people to be able to pick channels from outside their own region as it will impact on ad revenues

ITV is basically the one company now - only a few independent regions left.

With digital, the number of regional breakaways are less anyway. Last night's football for example - in analogue days Granada would have the United match, and Carlton the Chelsea match and the other regions pick and choose. Now it's ITV1 for one, ITV2 for the other.

So bar the news (which generally people want to watch for their own area) and a few crap regional programmes that ITV are trying to dump (that get poor viewing figures), why would people be that arsed to watch something other than 101?

channelsurfer

is it still april that the decision will be made and if so how soon could we expect itv to go fta if the decision favours them going fta. also it will be interesting to see what way they are gonna put itv4 on sky. if its going fta then that would be very much looking like itv1 and 2 would be.

channelsurfer

looks like it will be a mix of both fta and ftv according to todays mediaguardian. itv1 and 2 to stay encrypted while itv 3 and 4 to be fta. not much good..

Colm80

channelsurfer wrote:

looks like it will be a mix of both fta and ftv according to todays mediaguardian. itv1 and 2 to stay encrypted while itv 3 and 4 to be fta. not much good..

Any chance of a link to that story, cant find it on there web site.

channelsurfer

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1434197,00.html

ITV is understood to believe it can support a free satellite platform at the same time as continuing to pay BSkyB millions of pounds a year to keep ITV1 as a paid-for channel on Sky.

ITV executives stressed yesterday that no deal had been done with Sky. They are still waiting for media watchdog Ofcom to rule on how much the dominant pay-TV group can charge a channel to air on its satellite service.

ITV's decision is likely to have far-reaching implications for ITV's future growth strategy, which the company sketched out yesterday.

A renewed deal with Sky, albeit at a reduced price, would deal a heavy blow to the BBC, which will be the main backer of freesat when it launches. Where ITV leads, many believe Channel 4 and Five will follow.

ITV appealed to Ofcom in January after months of negotiations with Sky failed to produce an agreement on the cost of encryption - where channels are scrambled so that only homes that pay a subscription can see them. Ofcom is not expected to come to a decision on whether Sky's terms are fair and reasonable until the end of May.

Sources close to the talks between ITV and Sky believe the commercial broadcaster is preparing to pay Sky a reduced rate for encryption while continuing to offer its other channels for free.

It could also offer an entitlement card for future users to allow them to watch ITV1 for a smaller fee.

Negotiations between ITV and Sky broke down at the end of last year over the amount the Murdoch-controlled group wanted ITV to pay. ITV negotiators have balked at paying more than £10m, significantly less than the £17m a year the company pays now.

Industry sources suggest the talks are based on the broadcaster paying about £8m a year - more than the £4m paid by the BBC in its own groundbreaking deal with Sky in 2003.

Under former director-general Greg Dyke, the BBC stopped paying Sky for its encryption services. The decision to go "in the clear", in industry jargon, essentially allows all viewers to watch BBC digital services such as BBC3 and cBeebies without the need for a viewing card.

The deal allowed the BBC to relaunch Freeview with all its channels in October 2003. The BBC wants to launch freesat under the same terms.

The issues for ITV are understood to be more complicated, partly because it has long-term deals with the Champions' League and formula one. Under these agreements, Sky prevents football matches and motor races from being seen by non-subscribers.

ITV chief executive Charles Allen yesterday said he was still considering options and no decision had been taken. He admitted that one option would be to offer both encrypted and free channels.

This is likely to mean ITV1 remaining encrypted. The company could also decide to offer its own version of a viewing card to freesat users to enable them to watch its main channel and benefit from cross-promotions.

ITV has benefited from the rapid growth of Freeview, which is in nearly 6m homes. ITV believes its channels perform best on Freeview and least well on Sky.

So why sign a new deal with Sky? Could it offer ITV a further few years to ride both horses before it has to make a decision?

Macy

Hopefully this is just speculation from the Guardian, as ITV has said before it's negogiated rights on a FTA basis for several years (and I think both contracts were only recently renewed - with ITV losing the Wednesday night CL games to sky).

At this stage I'm more concerned about the end of May date for the OFCOM decision - christ all this ebbing and flowing on rumours good and bad is wrecking my head!