VOD : The future for linear TV channels

[muppetman11]

Look at the pricing of individual subs in the US , subscribe to HBO , Showtime etc and you can easily be spending more than the traditional bundling method.

Thats not to say I'm against individual subs being available , I'm sure there are many out there who are happy with Freeview and would love to add a single pay sub personally I'm not one of those.

[denphone]

l share the same thoughts as MM on this.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Look at the pricing of individual subs in the US , subscribe to HBO , Showtime etc and you can easily be spending more than the traditional bundling method.

Thats not to say I'm against individual subs being available , I'm sure there are many out there who are happy with Freeview and would love to add a single pay sub personally I'm not one of those.

I would never go back to a pay TV package. Streaming services give me much more personal choice. Also, thirty day contracts give you the option to opt in and out of a service, so that you only subscribe when there are shows on that interest you.

[jb66]

I'm freeview and amazon prime. I dont miss tivo one bit.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by passingbat

I would never go back to a pay TV package. Streaming services give me much more personal choice. Also, thirty day contracts give you the option to opt in and out of a service, so that you only subscribe when there are shows on that interest you.

And I don't blame you being you have no interest in sport. The packages you subscribe to the likes of Netflix , Amazon Prime and Now TV all still bundle content from a selection of broadcasters.

I was referring to having to take single subs for each broadcaster , ie one for Disney , one for Showtime , one for HBO etc.

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

eventually, streaming will take over completely.

It's the way we're going, folks!

No it won't; no it isn't.

Next please.

[denphone]

Perhaps he needs to be convinced by the Ghost's of Christmases Yet to Come.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by Chris

No it won't; no it isn't.

Next please.

I think he has some justification in what he believes Chris, I don't think you can just dismiss it as easily as you have just done.

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by passingbat

I would never go back to a pay TV package. Streaming services give me much more personal choice. Also, thirty day contracts give you the option to opt in and out of a service, so that you only subscribe when there are shows on that interest you.

Agree wth this once my bt tv contract is up in September i will not be renewing it, i find the combination of my USA tv sub, netflix, uk tv networks player aka bbciplayer, itv,ukplay etc and funmation gives me all the tv i need, i can't remember the last time i watched anything on bt tv.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

And I don't blame you being you have no interest in sport. The packages you subscribe to the likes of Netflix , Amazon Prime and Now TV all still bundle content from a selection of broadcasters.

I was referring to having to take single subs for each broadcaster , ie one for Disney , one for Showtime , one for HBO etc.

US residents can combine their Hulu and Showtime subscriptions. Who knows if there will be more of this? US residents will have figured out the expense of separate services, and there could be pressure for such bundling of Premium services, but still keeping the monthly sub. I suspect that most people who subscribe to HBO would also like to subscribe to similar premium services such as Showtime etc.

For people in the UK, HBO Nordic seems to be back to taking UK credit cards, which gives access to HBO, Showtime and AMC content, plus several others, again only being tied to a monthly contract.

Originally Posted by Mad Max

I think he has some justification in what he believes Chris, I don't think you can just dismiss it as easily as you have just done.

You think that was easy?

Try reading the last several months worth of posts in this thread. The reasons why linear TV is not going to end any time in the foreseeable future are many, and have been set out, repeatedly, in this discussion. There are those here that love Netflix (or whatever) and find it impossibly hard to understand why anyone should feel differently. That leads them to make manifestly silly assertions about broadcast TV being switched off within 10 years.

It may have escaped your notice, but the BBC is currently engaged in the charter renewal process, which will grant it a royal charter for the next 10 years. In other words, it is blatantly obvious that Old Boy's original claim in this thread is false. The BBC will still be broadcasting linear TV channels on Christmas Day 2025. If the BBC guarantees the market, then other broadcasters will also still be there. They will all still be there in 2035 as well. And beyond.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by Chris

You think that was easy?

Try reading the last several months worth of posts in this thread. The reasons why linear TV is not going to end any time in the foreseeable future are many, and have been set out, repeatedly, in this discussion. There are those here that love Netflix (or whatever) and find it impossibly hard to understand why anyone should feel differently. That leads them to make manifestly silly assertions about broadcast TV being switched off within 10 years.

It may have escaped your notice, but the BBC is currently engaged in the charter renewal process, which will grant it a royal charter for the next 10 years. In other words, it is blatantly obvious that Old Boy's original claim in this thread is false. The BBC will still be broadcasting linear TV channels on Christmas Day 2025. If the BBC guarantees the market, then other broadcasters will also still be there. They will all still be there in 2035 as well. And beyond.

In ten years? You may be right. In 20? Do you remember what it was like watching TV 20 years ago? In 1995, analogue cable TV was just being rolled out and most people did not have the Internet.

Given all the changes that can happen in a short space of time, particularly now, with technological advances being made at an ever faster rate, I don't think it wise to be saying that the existing linear TV model will still exist, at least in its present form, in the longer term.

And as for the BBC, I did not say that it would not exist in ten years. There's not a reason that I can think of why the BBC should not present all of its programmes by way of streaming in the future.

Incidentally, the BBC may be the last to depart from linear TV broadcasting, given that their channels do not waste 15 minutes of every hour showing commercials!

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

And I don't blame you being you have no interest in sport. The packages you subscribe to the likes of Netflix , Amazon Prime and Now TV all still bundle content from a selection of broadcasters.

I was referring to having to take single subs for each broadcaster , ie one for Disney , one for Showtime , one for HBO etc.

Actually, the services in bold are premium channels and would be an added cost on top of a US cable TV subscription.

Until recently, you couldn't get HBO or Showtime without a cable TV subscription.

Now you can. Therefore, the option to subscribe to various streaming Premium services only, is a saving for US residents.

In fact, Sky have in good part done the same With Now TV. You don't need a costly yearly Satellite contract to watch the Sky Channels and they've thrown in a few other channels as well.

[muppetman11]

Personally I would never pay £10 plus just for HBO or Showtime , Now TV offers a large selection of that and for £6.99 plus many other studios shows.

I accept the back catalogue isn't as good as these standalone services but personally I'd sooner pay less and wait for the back shows to come around on boxsets.

No way would I pay £120 a year for HBO and £120 for Showtime in fact I'd have to think twice at half that.

I agree though for many the pay lite model is the way to go as you say you get the key content and are free to cancel anytime.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Personally I would never pay £10 plus just for HBO or Showtime , Now TV offers a large selection of that and for £6.99 plus many other studios shows.

I accept the back catalogue isn't as good as these standalone services but personally I'd sooner pay less and wait for the back shows to come around on boxsets.

No way would I pay £120 a year for HBO and £120 for Showtime in fact I'd have to think twice at half that.

Yes, with careful selection of content providers, I think you can get a decent selection for your money, and maybe drop some of your TV packages to offset them.

A pretty good combination if you don't want to spend too much is Freeview + Netflix + Amazon Prime + Now TV entertainment package. You can access all of this for about £20 per month, which is very good indeed in my book.

Things will get better with time and ultimately there will be an amazing choice of new and older content.