BBC LAUNCH

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 7:51pm #1

Hi Guys,I have been reliably informed by a Sky marketing source that BBC 1 and 2 Ni will "soft Launch" next Monday the 19th March. Normally what will happen is these channels will be tested outside the EPG before full launch. These channels will be included in the Sky family pack according to my source who asked not to be named. Good news but not before time.

Tony Irelands Satellite Specialists

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 8:07pm

Good news....
Does your contact have info on where the channels on the EPG appear after the Full Launch...
Will they be on 101/102 etc or will they be on another number. One further question, will we be receiveing BBC Northern Ireland or BBC England, which we received before??
Thanks

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 8:09pm

As far as I aware, BBC2 on Sky Digital hasn't gone regional yet, so I would assume it would be the 'national' version we would get in the short term.
The excitement is mounting!!

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 8:20pm

I can only presume it will be on 101 and 102 as its difficlt for them to do it any other way, deleting these channels from the irish EPG was difficult for them. It will be the Ni version of BBC1 as far as I know bbc2 has not been regionalised.

Regards Tony Irelands Satellite specialists

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 8:30pm

I know I am not registered on this forum but have been contributing to it for a while. First off BBC is NOT launching in the south of Ireland for the foreseeable future at least 18 months, How do I know this? I hear you ask. Well it's like this without saying too much a very very close relative of mine works for BSB and is very much involved in the marketing of Sky on this island. So much so the £50 deal since last September was first suggested by her marketing team. Sky Ireland would love more than anything else to get the UK terrestrial broadcasters to come on board but are finding it very difficult because of financial issues. In the UK BBC CH4 & CH5 pay Sky the privilege of being carried on their digital platform and on their EPG. How do they get paid in Ireland??. The reason ITV are so slow to join Sky is the amount that Sky are looking from them to carry ITV programs. £20 million stg. That will give you an indication of the Figure that BBC + CH4 etc pay sky. I am nothing anything else for the moment, let’s just wait another week and we will see who really knows. I will keep you updated as much as I can from time to time,

Regards

Liam

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 8:33pm

Well Liam I guess we'll have to wait until Monday to see if you are right. I cant argue the validity of my information because as I said previously he asked not to be named

Regards Tony Irelands Satellite Specialists

icdg · 13-03-2001 9:54pm

I have to agree with a lot of what Just Irish said. Monday sounds far too soon. Like I keep saying, it should be within the next two years...of course, I'd love to be proved wrong on the former point.

But having said that...

Channels normally are PAID by Sky to go on their platform, if they are pay channels. Since the BBC will be a pay channel, not a free-to-air channel the principle should be that Sky will pay them to have them on the platform.

As for ITV, I have to point out that there are 15 ITV companies (of which our own UTV is just one), who broadcast in total 27 different variations. This is double the space BBC+C4+C5 together take up.

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 10:10pm

Did the source who started the story mention whether or not Channel 4/5 and BBC Choice and Knowledge would launch ? Apparently Digital Text has started on BBC Choice/Knowledge and News 24, and is very good and fast.

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 10:42pm

Hi Charles, At present only BBC was mentioned in my conversation with him unfortunately I cannot comment on Ch4/5 at this time. I can understand some memebers scepticism as these stories have done the rounds before so lets wait till Monday and see what happens. BTW Monday is only a technical start date and may be delayed if technical problems are encountered.

Regards tony Irelands Satellite Specialists

LegacyUser · 13-03-2001 11:31pm

I didnt "Get" your last point Tony.
You say next monday is the start of the Technical tests for these stations on the ROI Sky . If BBC is available throughout the UK already, and the signals are already there for BBC etc, is it not just a case of "Flicking" a switch to unblock these stations.
For example, if I have the Sky family pack, and wish to upgrade, say to the Sky World pack, all Sky has to do is programme the Card to receive the channels.
BTW its good to have you on the board!!!!!!

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 1:01am

Hmmm. New Topic!? 2day, my 'boss' foned sky regarding the bbc issue. they said that they're gonna make an announcement next week regarding this. from what he was told, it only involves BBC television being unblocked. They are still apparently negotiating with C4 and C5 on the issue. It is possible that we may see BBC on sky in next few weeks!! Anyway, details are a bit vague at the moment, with sky not saying much. I'll keep u posted with any news i get!!<!--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"> BTW, I believe that the BBC channels (when unblocked) will be available to customers of FAMILY PACK (£16) or higher. Not available for Value Pack (£9) as if anyone had Value Pack anyway!!!!!

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 1:52am

Hi Tanya, To the best of my Knowledge the channels will be using separate transponder space on the steerable beam (ie geographically limited to uk and Ireland)As the BBc have become paranoid about people outside Uk and Ireland watching its service they are insisting on this move. This is also the case on sky one and sky sports which both have Irish versions so Sky can maximise it s advertising revenue. They may well revert to amalgamating the BBC NI/ROI transponder at some stage in the future. They recently did this with Tara Tv as a test with the result that Tara is now not viewable on mainland Europe. Another advantage of using a new transponder is that the operating system software version upgrade is a lot quicker then a complete download. Thanks for the welcome I hope I have answered your question

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 12:45pm

There seems to be more and more confusion everyday, regarding BBC on Sky. What is happening in the next few weeks is BBC, Ch4 etc. are going on to the ASTRA 2D satellite on a narrow beam, this is fact. This means that in theory that only the UK will receive the signals from this beam, but with Ireland being so close to the UK we will also receive this beam. CH4 and CH5 will almost go in the clear on this beam, this will mean nothing to the people in the UK because they receive these channels anyway what it will mean to us is we will be able to view these channels but we will have to tune them in manually to the other channels menu. "THESE CHANNELS ARE NOT BEING LAUNCHED FOR IRELAND" but we will get them by de-fault. BBC is another matter this is also going on the ASTRA 2D bird but the channels are staying encrypted. This is Fact. I can NOW confirm that ITV will be announcing TODAY that they have completed a deal with SES and BSB and will be launching in the next few weeks.

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 12:50pm

I am glad you agree on the BBC issue (within the next 2 years) but I must disagree with the amount of channels carried by Sky for BBC CH4 etc. I make it 16 channels. think of all the BBC & CH4 regions (9 BBC choices (4) BBC news, BBC knowledge, BBC Parliament and

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 1:05pm

Hi Guys, I have just spoken to Kevin Mc Gann who is the General sales manager for ROI. He tells me that although technical tests are being carried out from Monday the official launch date has not been confirmed. Early April is the ball park but he said that the he does not know anything about March 19th or April 1st. Ch4/5 is still under negotiation. According to the London Times ITV have recahed agreement with SEs (astra) to broadcast 16 regional services to Uk users

Regards Tony Irelands Satellite Specialists

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 2:44pm

"THESE CHANNELS ARE NOT BEING LAUNCHED FOR IRELAND" but we will get them by de-fault.

nit picking a bit here aren't we?

I'm pretty sure all most folk are concerned with is the ability to recieve the channels.

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 3:12pm

If we get BBC by default or not is not a big issue for me.
The situation is if we get BBC/Ch4 etc by the "Add Channels" feature or by direct access through the EPG is no problem for me. A few months ago I could watch BBC stations through the "Other Channels" feature and I had no problems with it. The picture was crystal clear and the sound was perfect through my Hi-Fi.

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 3:24pm

Hi Again, there is no guarantee that ch4/5 will be broadcast in the clear on the spot beam. the only reason this was proposed was to eliminate the need for Bt broadcast services to issue non-subscription viewing cards but the BBC have insisted that this remain in place for now so there is no financial resaon for ch4/5 to go clear although this may still be a possibility. On the BBC issue if the channels appear in ROI it will not be by default there is a definite plan in the making not withstanding some legal issues which are being negotiated as we speak..

Regards tony moore

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 5:06pm

ITV AND SES REACH ASTRA CAPACITY AGREEMENT:

Three ASTRA 2D transponders at 28.2° East to provide 16 regional ITV services in digital
Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) is delighted to announce it has reached a 10 year capacity agreement with the UK's ITV Network Ltd. for three transponders on ASTRA 2D at 28.2° East to digitally broadcast the ITV services to the UK.

ITV is planning to broadcast 16 regional services on satellite, comprising the 14 ITV regions and separate services for HTV Wales and HTV West, and Border Scotland and Border England. The services are expected to begin transmitting via ASTRA before the end of the year. The agreement also includes options for ITV to secure additional ASTRA capacity in the future if needed for other ITV services.

Commenting on the agreement, Yves Elsen, Commercial and Marketing Director of SES, stated: "This is exciting news for the 4.7 million ASTRA digital satellite homes in the UK. Given ITV's emphasis on regional programming, this decision to launch on ASTRA highlights the important role satellite can play in delivering local as well as pan-European services. We believe that ITV's programming pedigree will further accelerate the demand for digital satellite services in Britain."

Kate Stross, ITV Finance and Development Director, said: "We are delighted to have concluded this agreement with SES. This is an important first step towards ITV broadcasting on satellite."

The SES Satellite Monitor, conducted by Continental Research at the end of 2000, recorded an amazing increase of 2.5 million new digital satellite homes in the UK during the year. This strong growth means that nearly one in five UK households - 19% - now receives digital satellite services from ASTRA.

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 7:18pm

I have posted the current frequencies for the UK Channels in another thread. Does anyone know if these freqs are going to change when the channels move ???

I can't wait to have the UK channels as South Coast is very dodgy where I live. But I still prefer them to Chorus.

As Big Tanya stated, the UK terrestrial channels were available for five days last November through the Other Channels section. It was a minor inconvenience not to have them on the EPG, but it was much better than not having them at all.

LegacyUser · 14-03-2001 8:46pm

All his posting's contradict each other. I for one wouldn’t believe day light from this guy. I guarantee you 110% that BBC will not be available in the ROI from next Monday or any Monday for that matter for a long long time. If ever. BTW Tony BBC don’t carry adverts. So why would they amalgamate ROI + NI BBC . I didn’t know there is a ROI BBC. And as far as TARA is concerned I was watching last Sunday in the south of Spain. Funny isn’t it. Maybe you set up Sky for someone in Europe and couldn’t get Tara, Because if you know as much about installing Sky as you think you know about BBC in Ireland , well I answered my own question with my last comment .

BBC LAUNCH

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