Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
That means nothing on its own, Gavin. Since when has VM given advance notice of channels before a deal has been signed? Do you not remember all the chatter that went on before the original BT wholesale deal was announced? We didn't get confirmation until right up to the day it was broadcast!
Expect a lot of speculation until the deal is announced, and believe none of it in the meantime!
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I totally agree with you. These things are kept tightly-guarded secrets known only to one or two people.
My own view is that BT is in a spot of bother now. If you read the many press reports it's looking to sell some overseas IT consulting subsidiaries after ten years of fraud was discovered in its Italian subsidiary! BT needs to take fewer risks now and it needs VM's cheque to pay for the Premier League rights. With VM expanding its network, it's arguably in a stronger position than at the last time the two of them sat around the negotiating table.
---------- Post added at 11:49 ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
I gave links to sources, Den, that's all. Gavin's links are to tweets that put forward questions that Virgin are not in a position to answer, and then a story is conjured up as to why they won't answer the question.
There is a world of difference between the two, Den, and I am positive that you can see that.
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Agreed. There was also an article a month or so back that said that Amazon had been in talks with VM and VM's management were keen on the deal but the parent company (Liberty Global International) over-ruled them as they felt Amazon was a long-term strategic threat. And before that, I think someone reported Amazon testing on VM too.
Certainly, there was more evidence for Amazon arriving than BT Sport leaving!