Will you leave Virgin for BT Vision?

Chad · 10-11-2012, 16:24

Just noticed on BT's website they are clearly targeting Virgin Media customers.

http://www.bt.com/

"Youview from BT is here! Switch from Virgin Media for the largest library of films and TV shows on demand."

BT have aggressively been snapping up carriage deals. So far they've agreed deals for Watch, Gold, Alibi, Good Food, Eden, Home, FX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2. We know BT sports will be launching in the summer and there is also a "Coming Soon" video from BT on Youtube which shows HD channels such as SKY Sports 1 and 2 will be added shortly. Anyone keeping an eye on press coverage knows BT have millions and millions of pounds available right now to secure content.

BT are currently rolling out Infinity 160Mb broadband across the UK. Suddenly Virgin find themselves behind BT in terms of broadband speed.

There is a real chance that by Summer 2013, to coincide with the launch of BT Sport, BT will be able to offer:

1. Faster broadband than Virgin
2. Cheaper calls than Virgin
3. More on demand and catch up content than Virgin
4. BT Sports cheaper than Virgin
5. A very similar channel line up to Virgin
6. More, much more TV apps than Virgin including NOW TV, Netflix, Lovefilm, Facebook etc...

If BT can offer all of the above in a bundle that works out either cheaper or better than anything Virgin can offer, would you leave Virgin and join BT?

Peter_ · 10-11-2012, 16:26

No as it will never be cheaper than my present package and also I would not have BT installed even for free.

MarkC1984 · 10-11-2012, 16:27

Only way I would consider BT is if there was no-one else on this planet who offered Broadband services.

Sirius · 10-11-2012, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad

Just noticed on BT's website they are clearly targeting Virgin Media customers.

http://www.bt.com/

"Youview from BT is here! Switch from Virgin Media for the largest library of films and TV shows on demand."

BT have aggressively been snapping up carriage deals. So far they've agreed deals for Watch, Gold, Alibi, Good Food, Eden, Home, FX, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild, British Eurosport and British Eurosport 2. We know BT sports will be launching in the summer too. There is also a "Coming Soon" video from BT on Youtube which shows HD channels such as SKY Sports 1 and 2 will be added shortly. Anyone keeping an eye on press coverage knows BT have millions and millions of pounds available right now to secure content.

BT are currently rolling out Infinity 160Mb broadband across the UK. Suddenly Virgin find themselves behind BT in terms of broadband speed.

There is a real chance that by Summer 2013, to coincide with the launch of BT Sport, BT will be able to offer:

1. Faster broadband than Virgin
2. Cheaper calls than Virgin
3. More on demand and catch up content than Virgin
4. BT Sports cheaper than Virgin
5. A very similar channel line up to Virgin
6. More, much more TV apps than Virgin including NOW TV, Netflix, Lovefilm, Facebook etc...

If BT can offer all of the above in a bundle that works out cheaper than anything Virgin can offer, would you leave Virgin and join BT?

I work for VM so i get a good deal from VM, however if i was to leave VM i would still stay with VM, i could NEVER go back to BT due to past history and there totally useless customer service and service and repair. If i had to switch to another provider because i had moved to a house that cannot be fed by VM then it would be Sky that i would move to.

Chad · 10-11-2012, 16:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius

I work for VM so i get a good deal from VM, however if i was to leave VM i would still stay with VM, i could NEVER go back to BT due to past history and there totally useless customer service and service and repair. If i had to switch to another provider because i had moved to a house that cannot be fed by VM then it would be Sky that i would move to.

Good post. Seems people have had bad experiences with BT in the past and it's a major factor why people wouldn't go back. Personally I've never had any products from BT at all. I wonder if they'll invest heavily in customer services prior to any potential "summer push".

---------- Post added at 17:43 ---------- Previous post was at 17:36 ----------

Just found this too:

http://www.cable.co.uk/news/youview-...ice-801458539/

Broadband-connected TV joint venture YouView is planning to roll out online linear TV channel delivery and a mobile app in the second phase of its launch.

The service will unveil an app that allows users to control the electronic programme guide via their smartphone and record remotely in the coming weeks, reports Broadcast.

This will be followed in early 2013 by the introduction of live content streaming, expanding beyond its current video-on-demand-only proposition.

It looks like BT Vision will soon be able to offer a similar service to Virgin Anywhere and SKY Go too.

**Maggy J** · 10-11-2012, 16:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius

I work for VM so i get a good deal from VM, however if i was to leave VM i would still stay with VM, i could NEVER go back to BT due to past history and there totally useless customer service and service and repair. If i had to switch to another provider because i had moved to a house that cannot be fed by VM then it would be Sky that i would move to.

I feel the same about BT..

Jameseh · 10-11-2012, 16:46

Whoever has more HD without the need for a dish gets my money.

denphone · 10-11-2012, 16:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggy J

I feel the same about BT..

Seconded as my experiences of BT from the past are experiences l don't want to repeat.

GrimUpNorth · 10-11-2012, 16:52

I voted yes, because of the wording of the question - if the deal was right - however I don't think the deal will ever be right so in reality the answer is probably going to no for a long long time to come.

Cheers

Grim

dilligaf1701 · 10-11-2012, 17:02

I'm already with bt and have the vision service. I had far more bad service from vm though. Every company had good and bad for me.

I can't get cable here and vm wanted over 50.a month flee the same 16mb i get for a lot less than bt.

Chad · 10-11-2012, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

I'm already with bt and have the vision service. I had far more bad service from vm though. Every company had good and bad for me.

I can't get cable here and vm wanted over 50.a month flee the same 16mb i get for a lot less than bt.

What is the general buzz amongst BT Vision customers? In terms of Youview and future TV channel launches it must be an exciting time to be a BT TV customer?

Horizon · 10-11-2012, 17:15

Something I'm watching closely from BT/Openreach are the plans to launch Fibre On Demand. Which is fibre cable straight into the house.

At the moment BT Vision is far too flakey. Pumping hd tv pictures over an old ropey copper cable just doesn't work well enough in my opinion and experience. But I expect BT, Sky, TalkTalk and perhaps others to launch full linear IPTV services next year over fibre lines. When this happens, I'll look again at BT Vision, Youview, or whatever the hell it will be called by then. But I don't want an ariel, I want a cable only service. This is why I will remain with VM until an alternative is available.

andy_m · 10-11-2012, 19:02

I don't have infinity in my area, their website doesn't suggest it's coming anytime soon and I can get about 2mb from their exchange, so I'll be staying with Virgin for the foreseeable for that reason alone. I will, however, reconsider my TV package if the ESPN related value is stripped from the xl package. I don't really want to lose TiVo, but it's not much of a product without content. The chances are, however, that I'd be looking at a reduction in my bill, or a return to Sky. Since I can't get their broadband I won't be able to get much out of bt's TV service.

Londonbornpaddy · 11-11-2012, 00:45

I won't have BT in the house. When they had monopoly of the telephone world they took advantage. I remember signing up for my first internet deal with them and they tried to charge so much just to be able to get to the internet then even more for the actual use of it.Then i found Freeserve were charging nothing for line rental and less than BT for internet. I can't stand them and hope they fail spectacularly. I wont buy a phone if it has BT on it and i get angry when the adverts come on the tv. I didnt get sky when i moved in to this house on principal that they said i had to have a BT line.
Rant over.

Chad · 11-11-2012, 00:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Londonbornpaddy

Rant over.

It was a good one! Totally understandable why you'd never go back.

Maybe Virgins customer service isn't as bad as some make out. I've read some really negative stuff about BT on various forums. Looks like BT have burned their bridges with plenty of people over the past 15 years or so.