Is Fibre the beginning of the end for linear Pay TV?

Thought I might just throw this out there to start a healthy discussion... ;)

I believe that many people see Pay TV as an expensive luxury they can't afford whilst others think it's great value, but media reports do suggest that the biggest growth in TV services seem to be the subscription free versions such as Freesat & YouView, which may just be people cutting their cloth accordingly in difficult times, but I wonder if it really is?

Illegal content has been around since the days of dial up and over the years it has grown exponentially as broadband speed has increased. For the record, I don't cast judgement over anyone that chooses to access content in this way, in fact, I'm beginning to see why it is so attractive and not just from the cost point of view.

If you know where to look it is possible to watch every match you could want from the Premier League to the Champions League live online, sometimes even in HD. Every film or TV series that is released is available to watch or download and often well in advance of it's official UK viewing. For example, we enjoy a series called Castle shown here on Alibi and now on episode 10 of season 5, but in the US it has already completed it's run. Sure enough I can download the remaining 14 episodes in HD and ad free today to watch when I like rather than having to go through the agony of 1 episode a week!

With a Fibre connection the amount of content available online and in great quality (albeit illegally) is amazing and the bottom line is, the people that are consuming this material are not the ones being targeted with action by the authorities.

A bit like the music industry has tried to move on I think the TV & Movie industry will have to do the same and give us access to the content we want, when we want it and for a fair price otherwise more and more people will move to getting their content this way, regardless of the toothless legality of it all.

So why should I continue to pay for a premium service that doesn't give me what I want, when I want it, especially when I can get what I want for free?

What do you see as the future for Pay TV?

Discuss...

Consumers are willing to pay a fair price for the convenience and facilities offered by a pay TV service. Just as in the past when televisions were relatively more expensive than they are today TV rental was an acceptable way to have a modern TV with all the latest frills (BBC2, colour, teletext, Nicam stereo etc.) The same could be said for a pay TV service like Sky. The problem occurs when programme providers pay exorbitant prices for exclusive access to certain events or sporting fixtures. While in the short term it may be good for the clubs receiving some of these funds it just means that players in these clubs can demand higher wages which only serves to produce a larger gap between the elite clubs and the grass root clubs. You might claim it is Darwinian ie. the survival of the fittest but I would argue that this is being distorted by the amount of money involved. The money doesn't even achieve exclusivity as testified by the OP but also helps to line the pockets of the lawyers who are attempting to right this injustice. So in summary I am quite happy to pay a fair price for a pay TV service but find the current system of provision unfair and ultimately untenable.

I agree.

Like you, my frustration is not so much the price per se, but that I still don't get what I want, when I want it as a consumer due to the various licencing/finance issues you mention.

Just found another one, I quite enjoyed season 1 of Continuum on SyFy last year (don't judge me!), and season 2 starts on Thursday, yet they are already on episode 8 of 13 across the pond, so if I just wait a few more weeks I can no doubt get the entire run in one hit and watch it at my leisure long before it finishes here. :confused:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by stereohaven

Just found another one, I quite enjoyed season 1 of Continuum on SyFy last year (don't judge me!), and season 2 starts on Thursday, yet they are already on episode 8 of 13 across the pond, so if I just wait a few more weeks I can no doubt get the entire run in one hit and watch it at my leisure long before it finishes here. :confused:

---

Thanks for the heads up on Continuum. Sky never miss has let me down.

You just love watching Rachel Nichols running around in her tight fitting uniform :mask:.

Seriously though, with Sky having had to block another couple of site this week, the copyright holders are fighting hard to close down torrents and other sights that may hold illegal material.

What we need to remember is that there are some really clever people out there who created the torrent system, set up sites to enable file sharing and who opened up the marker across the planet so that everyone is no longer ripped off.

Sure they will argue about their overhead.... from their very smart, well laid out, offices. Producing music, TV series, films, etc. is not cheap. However the industry has a chequered history of ripping of the artists and ripping of the public. Why else would you need a license to allow a local group to perform live in a venue (pub, hall, etc.)? The group get paid for the performance, but the PRS requires a license to be bought and paid for to them as well.

A guide to licences

It is well documented that the industry ripped off artists when CDs were introduced. They claimed that it was new technology which needed to be paid for. Once the set up costs were covered they didn't bother passing on the savings to the artists in new contracts.

As for downloading things, there are two sides to this. As someone who used to video various films and TV series, I amassed a fair collection of video tapes. I still have many of them in my loft, even though I no longer own a working VCR.

I see the torrents which I do download as an alternative way to store them for the future. A bit like the VCR. Ok the quality is considerably better (no more hiss, HD picture & 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1 sound), but then the methods of recording programmes and films have improved.

I am sure that I could set up a means to record off my Sky+ HD STB onto a separate PVR type device if I wanted to. Provided that I have no intent of selling it or showing it publicly, then where would I be breaking the law? The case for VCRs was argued in the 1970s and won in favour of the public. I am sure that the law hasn't changed that much.

Now if I were to download something that I hadn't the right to watch in the first place (in my case I don't subscribe to the Sports pack, so lets use an example of a Premiership match shown on Sky), then it would be a different tale.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scubbie

You just love watching Rachel Nichols running around in her tight fitting uniform :mask:.

---

I have no idea what you mean... ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scubbie

Now if I were to download something that I hadn't the right to watch in the first place (in my case I don't subscribe to the Sports pack, so lets use an example of a Premiership match shown on Sky), then it would be a different tale.

---

Although as I understand it, you don't download football, you just watch it live on a stream. In fact you don't even have to download any programmes or films either as it is possible to stream almost all of them so that you never physically have the file.

What are they going to do, stop all streaming traffic?

I guess that they are tackling one issue at a time for now.

No doubt it will be on their Radar.

I rarely watch anything as it is broadcast.
I much prefer to record and view when it suits me.
I also download a lot of stuff that is currently being shown in the US, some of which will never be shown on UK television.
Doing this is so much more convenient and I only download exactly what I want, I don't have to sift through the endless amount of rubbish we have on our screens which seems to be catering for a neanderthal intelligence.

If it was down to me, I would ditch sky in an instant. it is overpriced and has far too many rubbish channels with moronic content.
I have a family, so cannot do that. :(

I also have a motorised system so have access to tens of thousands of channels. Many in English.
Despite having access to so many channels, I find that I am incredibly selective in what I view.



dog-man

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scubbie

You just love watching Rachel Nichols running around in her tight fitting uniform :mask:.

---

In case anyone has missed it she's at it again. The final series started last week on SyFi. :cry_smile: