Re: Campaign for Channel 4/5 and/or RTE/TV3/TG4

icdg · 28-03-2001 8:51pm #1

I have no problem with adding a Contact section for the major broadcasters. I'll do a page for this campaign in the same way as the Chorus Customer Service one with links to useful sites.

Having said that I'm ultra-busy this week! (which is why there have been no updates or contributions to the forums since Monday). So it'll be Saturday at the earliest before it is up.

LegacyUser · 28-03-2001 9:29pm

this is what i got which is basically what you got. it sounds promising

We will be talking to Sky in the near future with regard to carriage on Sky
digital. There are several issues, technical and legal that will have to be
ironed out before we would be carried. Hopefully we will have a
satisfactory outcome to our negotiations and that you will be able to see
TG4 properly
before too long.
Regards
Linda Ni Ghriofa

LegacyUser · 28-03-2001 9:52pm

That is actually the very same email that I got, I didn't have it to hand when I posted last time.

Anyone else think it's strange that TG4 seem to be speaking to them when RTE said they were not - both in response to the same email to TG4.

Are RTE 100% responsible for the transmission of TG4? I wonder if they are, would it imply that if TG4 are speaking to Sky, then RTE must be, by default?

Mark (finally got around to registering)

LegacyUser · 28-03-2001 9:54pm

Tis nice to see TG4 taking an interest in skydigital. And with any luck, Bob Collins might respond to your letter, Mark. Hopefully we may see TG4 on sky b4 end of the year. And if TV3 jump on board too, then RTÉ would have to follow suit. Will look forward to the email links on your site soon, Ronan coz i don't have 'em all.

LegacyUser · 28-03-2001 11:11pm

The only way I found to contact Sky was via <a href="http://www.sky.com/home/Feedback.html" OLDREF="">www.sky.com/home/Feedback.html</a>. This will have to do until someone finds an email address. <img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/pimp.gif" ALT=":hat" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/pimp.gif">

LegacyUser · 29-03-2001 10:26am

I filled out the form there on that site 2 weeks ago about BBC on Sky Digital, when it still was rumour, still waiting for a reply.......

About as optimistic as when I wrote to UTV in 1999, as to why there was no 40th anniversary programme.

LegacyUser · 29-03-2001 11:53am

"About as optimistic as when I wrote to UTV in 1999, as to why there was no 40th anniversary programme."

I think UTV have collective amnesia about anything that happened before 1993. And they have selective amnesia about anything the fact that they are part of the ITV network. I think they are probably the only ITV station never to have any ITV logo on any ident of theirs ever. Scottish and Grampian don't now but did in the past.

This is rapidly spiralling off-topic, but isn't it odd that the BBC are now very good at regionality (having clean ends of programmes for local voiceovers and a DOGless distribution of their channels around the UK) whereas ITV aren't - they often have voiceovers on the feed already sent to the regions (causing problems for regions who are opting out of the network - usually UTV and the Scottish stations0. They also don't provide a clean ITV2 feed for local branding by UTV2 and S2 (the latter covers the DOG with their own, "solid" one.

icdg · 29-03-2001 7:13pm

I wonder will we see a 10th Anniversary programme for UTV in 2003? (Its not unprecedented: Sky celebrated their tenth anniversary in 1999 even though the company was already over twenty years old then - it was set up as SATV in 197<img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/glasses.gif" ALT="8)" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/glasses.gif"> .

Back to the topic in hand: RTE are still responsible for TG4, it is a wholly owned subsidary (Serbhisi Telefis na Gaelige Teoranta) of the RTE Authority. Next year the two will seperate under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2001, but that is still a bit off. (There hasn't even been a Commencement Order for the Act

LegacyUser · 29-03-2001 8:22pm

I recently emailed C5 again regarding availability in ROI and got this response:

Date: 29th March 2001

Dear Will

Thank you for your recent e-mail.

Please rest assured that the information and comments made regarding the availability of Channel 5 on digital in the Republic of Ireland have been forwarded to all relevant personnel for their consideration.

Please note that the contact details for the Channel 5 Duty Office are as follows:

Telephone: 0845 7 05 05 05 Text telephone for use by deaf people: 0845 7 41 37 87
E-mail: dutyoffice@channel5.co.uk
Fax: 020 7550 5678

Not much but a slight change from their previous email stating that they'd no interest in ROI broadcasts. Here's hoping! <img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/pimp.gif" ALT=":hat" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/pimp.gif">

LegacyUser · 29-03-2001 9:36pm

I wonder will we see a 10th Anniversary programme for UTV in 2003? (Its not unprecedented: Sky celebrated their tenth anniversary in 1999 even though the company was already over twenty years old then - it was set up as SATV in 197 .

Doubtful. UTV shouldn't forget it origins as it seems to have done, but the eagerness not to use the world "Ulster" in relation to the channel seems to be of great important. Before you ask, the U now apparently stands for "yoU" (!)

Sky's anniversary was properly celebrated, BTW. The company as we now know it did originate broadcasts on 5th February 1989. Sky Television, as it was then, and BSkyB later following the merger is technically only ten years old. Murdoch did have an interest in the old Sky Channel that was around for ages, and was being widely carried in the mid-80s, but it wasn't the channel as launched in 1989. Sorry if that seems pedantic, but UTV should be celebrating Ulster TV's anniversary, not its rebranded one!

icdg · 30-03-2001 6:24pm

I had both the old Sky Channel and the "The New Sky Channel" aka Sky One. The old one closed as usual on the Friday of the re-launch. All that week we had promos for shows that would be on "The New Sky Channel". On the Saturday a programme menu was displayed all day, then the "The New Sky Channel" or Sky Channel as it was simply known launched on Sunday at 6pm.

OK, you may call it technically a different channel, but the interveral between them was 48 hours. They had the same name, almost the same logo...looked more like a relaunch than a name change. It was still on the button marked BBC2 (I de-tuned BBC 2 to make way for Sky, my TV at the time only had 6 pre-sets! So I couldn't watch Screensport, Livestyle, TCC etc - or BBC 2!).

Incidently the change to Sky One, a few months later, happened with no fanfare whatsoever.

BTW - the company name for UTV is still Ulster Television plc, after all these years. I thought there might be a name change this AGM but haven't seen the small print at the end of the annual report so I can't confirm this. (The annual report should be available in the Dublin Central Library soon - they get all of UTV's reports).

LegacyUser · 30-03-2001 9:38pm

Hi

I have the contact details for Channel 4... before i heard about this campaign on icdg I too sent the two organisations an email asking about carriage on SkyDig.

For the sake of the campaign i have included the messages here...

From: Viewer Enquiries <ViewerEnquiries@Channel4.co.uk>
Subject: RE: C4 on Sky Digital
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 12:02:27 -0000

Hi there Marc

At the moment Channel 4 do not have a licence to broadcast in the Republic
of Ireland, and there are no plans to start broadcasting on SKY DIGITAL.

And from Channel 5:

Dear Marc

Thank you for your recent e-mail.

Channel 5 is licensed to broadcast only in the UK. Both signals on analogue and digital satellite are scrambled to prevent anyone outside the UK viewing Channel 5. However, it was possible through a videocrypt decoder box to unscramble the signal on analogue satellite, as these are available to buy outside the UK, we are unable to prevent viewers tuning in. To view the British terrestrial channels on digital satellite you need a 'free to air' card only available to residents of the United Kingdom.

Thank you for your interest in Channel 5.

Yours sincerely

DUTY OFFICER

Slightly different but I hope they help!!

M

LegacyUser · 30-03-2001 9:51pm

Tanya - current e-mail address for Sky viewer feedback is viewerR@BSkyB.com - good luck!

LegacyUser · 30-03-2001 9:57pm

Sorry - think I wound up posting this in the wrong thread!

LegacyUser · 31-03-2001 11:01pm

As a Sky Digital customer in the UK, I would welcome RTE/TV3 etc on to Sky for UK customers, but I think that Sky/E4 themselves may cause a fuss, i.e becuase of Friends, ER, X Files etc.

I think that if RTE take the decision to only allow themselves to be available thru Digital Terrestrial then they are making a BIG mistake. It hasn't worked in the UK, ITV are now desperate to get on to Sky Digital, as is, Carlton Food Network, (re-branded of course to TASTE TV) and Carlton Cinema, because, they can't survive without maximum penetration on all platforms.

RTE should learn form ITV's mistake and make themselves available free to view for irish subscribers and part of the family pack for UK subscribers. Hey RTE, if you are reading this, if Sky increased their prices next year by £1 and you were given 50p of that - it would equal an additional revenue based upon 5 million UK subscribers of 30 million pounds a year. Think about it and think hard !!!!!!!!!!!!!

LegacyUser · 31-03-2001 11:41pm

Particularly since they made large losses last year.

LegacyUser · 01-04-2001 11:21am

I think it would be a great advance in Irish TV to broadcast in UK via Dsat. Although RTÉ should be FTA on Irish Dsat, it could be possible to put RTÉ on Family Pack on Sky just like BBC1ni here. It would be terrribly stupid for RTÉ not to join up with Sky. Hopefully, TV3 will be on b4 long as in my opinion, the channel is getting better every month. Good competition for RTÉ meaning better progs for the viewers.

BTW, great work with the Campaign details, Ronan. I'm sure u won't mind me promoting your site on different forums etc. to get as many candidates as possible! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START

--><img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif" ALT=":)" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif">

LegacyUser · 02-04-2001 8:10pm

This is the email i received from sky ( <a href="mailto: viewerr@bskyb.com" OLDREF=""> viewerR@bskyb.com</a> ) today. Not much sadly. Anyone else anything to offer?

 Thank you for your recent email.

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your kind comments with regard to
BBC1 and BBC2.

With regard to Channel 4 and Channel 5. Both of these channels are
independent broadcasters and we have no information of any plans for them to
broadcast in the ROI.

However, I have listed below details of these channels which you may wish
to contact direct for further information.

Channel 4
Channel 5
Viewer Relations
Viewer Relations
124-126 Horseferry Road
Duty Office
LONDON
PO Box 55
SW1P 2TX tel no: 0207 306 8333
Nottinghamshire

NG1 5HE tel no: 0345 050 505

BSkyB are in talks with Ireland's other terrestrial broadcasters. However,
so far, we have no confirmation of which, if any of these channels will be
available.

Helen Dewar
Viewer Relations

LegacyUser · 04-04-2001 12:52am

"I think it would be a great advance in Irish TV to broadcast in UK via Dsat. Although RTÉ should be FTA on Irish Dsat, it could be possible to put RTÉ on Family Pack on Sky just like BBC1ni here."

I agree that RTÉ will most likely wind up available via SkyD to Irish viewers with a paid-up TV licence as happens in the UK with BBC. With SkyD now one of the biggest multi-channel platforms in Ireland (and due to get even bigger), RTÉ would be foolish to stay off. However, you can be almost completely sure that RTÉ will *never* join SkyD *and* be available (either FTV, FTA or via subscription) to viewers in the UK, simply because the international programme rights apply to Ireland only - and the majority (almost all) of these (West Wing, ER, Friends, Ally, Home and Away, Felicity, Dawson's Creek, Party of Five, X-Files... the list is endless) also lie with UK broadcasters. It simply wouldn't be allowed to happen, even with additional payments from UK viewers - the *rights* cannot co-exist with two broadcasters targetting the same region.

"It would be terrribly stupid for RTÉ not to join up with Sky. Hopefully, TV3 will be on b4 long as in my opinion, the channel is getting better every month."

I can see this happening before long, too - TV3 have a vested interest in appearing to the audience in Ireland it cannot reach via cable, terrestrial or MMDS. Maybe Granada could arrange carraige for it on one of its ITV transponders. But, like RTÉ (and again, due to US imports over UK ones - which seem to co-exist on TV3 and UTV) - it can never become available to viewers in the UK. In ROI, there was a precident for the reception of UK channels outside the UK - the same (bar NI which doesn't count, technically and West Wales) does not apply in the UK.

LegacyUser · 04-04-2001 6:09pm

Well i got my responce to BBc news 24 etc becoming available in roi from bbc.They don't know themselves???? See my responce.

BBC Responce:
Glad to see you are enjoying.We don't know about New's 24 or other channels.The chances are that you will find out through sky roi or other means before we get to hear ourselves.

Kind regard's,
Vaughan Reynold's
BBC Reception Advice

Well what do you make of that?
I reckon we will have to put the pressure on Sky to get this sorted.
Any other new's on ch4?

Digiman-limerick.

Re: Campaign for Channel 4/5 and/or RTE/TV3/TG4

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