VOD : Linear is old tech - on demand is the future

[OLD BOY]

An interesting perspective on the potential for Amazon to bid for the Premiership rights here.

https://www.ibc.org/delivery/analysi...-/2434.article

[denphone]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

An interesting perspective on the potential for Amazon to bid for the Premiership rights here.

https://www.ibc.org/delivery/analysi...-/2434.article

As the saying goes you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

As the saying goes you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Damn! That must be why you are refusing to accept that change is inevitable!

[muppetman11]

It's interesting that Old Boy regards Sky as a monopoly but actively promotes the likes of Amazon

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

It's interesting that Old Boy regards Sky as a monopoly but actively promotes the likes of Amazon

Amazon isn't a monopoly, actually, and it is extremely good at what it does, which explains why they have been so successful.

Incidentally, I have not been promoting Amazon, I've been drawing attention to their interest in bidding for the Premier League.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

It's interesting that Old Boy regards Sky as a monopoly but actively promotes the likes of Amazon

OB does excel with his wise pearls of contradictory wisdom.

---------- Post added at 19:09 ---------- Previous post was at 19:07 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Damn! That must be why you are refusing to accept that change is inevitable!

There is change and there is unlikely change and l shall leave it at that.

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Amazon isn't a monopoly, actually, and it is extremely good at what it does, which explains why they have been so successful.

Incidentally, I have not been promoting Amazon, I've been drawing attention to their interest in bidding for the Premier League.

Shame Amazon treat their staff like crap.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by theone2k10

Shame Amazon treat their staff like crap.

Well, that may be so, but customers are getting a good deal from Amazon.

Hopefully, they will be listening to criticism of its employment policies.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Well, that may be so, but customers are getting a good deal from Amazon.

Hopefully, they will be listening to criticism of its employment policies.

Insincere lip service they call it OB.

---------- Post added at 04:43 ---------- Previous post was at 04:40 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Well, that may be so, but customers are getting a good deal from Amazon.


Hopefully, they will be listening to criticism of its employment policies.

Well that depends on ones thinking as some think they offer good value and others think they are a rip off.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by denphone

Well that depends on ones thinking as some think they offer good value and others think they are a rip off.

Why a rip off, Den? They often have the cheapest prices around.

If Amazon is a rip off, I cannot think what you'd say about John Lewis and M&S!

[theone2k10]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Why a rip off, Den? They often have the cheapest prices around.

If Amazon is a rip off, I cannot think what you'd say about John Lewis and M&S!

They certainly are not the cheapest around example 1 cities skylines on ps4 Amazon price (with prime add £1.99 for none prime) £34.99, Argos price £24.99 quite a big difference.
Example number 2 rise of the tomb raider ps4 Amazon price £37.99, HMV price £29.99 Argos price £19.99 the list goes on.
Also worth noting the Argos and HMV prices were not special offers either.
Amazons live tv is a rip off too if you wanted everything you'd be better of sticking with VM or Sky and this is coming from a cord cutter.
Quite often i find what i want much cheaper elsewhere than Amazoin and no i'm not pirating the items OB lol.

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by theone2k10

They certainly are not the cheapest around example 1 cities skylines on ps4 Amazon price (with prime add £1.99 for none prime) £34.99, Argos price £24.99 quite a big difference.
Example number 2 rise of the tomb raider ps4 Amazon price £37.99, HMV price £29.99 Argos price £19.99 the list goes on.
Also worth noting the Argos and HMV prices were not special offers either.
Amazons live tv is a rip off too if you wanted everything you'd be better of sticking with VM or Sky and this is coming from a cord cutter.
Quite often i find what i want much cheaper elsewhere than Amazoin and no i'm not pirating the items OB lol.

Yes, I agree that some items are more expensive, but many items are cheaper than you can get elsewhere. I've not heard anyone accuse Amazon of being a 'rip off' before, I think that is unfair.

As for their TV side, I don't really find many of the channels they offer to be of interest to me. They are certainly expensive if you want to subscribe to them all, but their offering is designed to benefit those who have one or two specific channels to suit their needs. For them, it's quite a saving over even the most basic satellite or cable subscription. Having said that, I am surprised that they don't offer a package that pays for all the channels on offer, which would be attractive to some and would generate more paying customers.

Some don't much like the fact that some of their films and TV series are chargeable, but these are the programmes for which Amazon do not hold the rights. Personally, I only watch the Prime stuff, but it's nice to know that there's other stuff on there if you need it, albeit with a charge.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Well, that may be so, but customers are getting a good deal from Amazon.

Hopefully, they will be listening to criticism of its employment policies.

Oh dear so saving a few pence means more to you than hard working people being in a job what pays them a liveable wage.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Hopefully, they will be listening to criticism of its employment policies.

They may well listen, but I suspect they won't change a thing until either their profits are affected or the government intervenes.

---------- Post added at 12:39 ---------- Previous post was at 12:11 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

Hence my question to MM, Den.

Look, at the moment, I could put on ITV on Saturday and get a choice of The Family Chase, The X Factor, Jonathan Ross, News, American Pie.

If I set my preferences to news, dramas and chat shows, my selection might become Liar, Victoria, Jonathan Ross, News, Lethal Weapon. It's still ITV, and all the programmes are extracted from the same week, but the shows are now to my liking.

Conversely, a person who likes talent contests, reality documentaries and soaps might have the choice of The Family Chase, The X-Factor, Coronation Street, Tipping Point, Call the Cleaners, Britain's Claim Culture: Tonight and An Hour to Catch a Killer with Trevor McDonald.

Call it a gimmick if you like, but this actually makes linear viewing far more acceptable and tailored to the needs of the individual or family.

What's not to like?

I can see two ways this will work. If they don't ask you to register, they will simply track what their viewers are watching en mass and use this to schedule the shows. This is not new, and is actually what Channel 4 do in this country with More 4.

If they do require you to register, then yes, they open up the possibility of an individually scheduled channel, but they could (and probably will) harvest all sorts of other information about you, which they could then sell on. That info, at the very least, will be used to advertise stuff to you and could be used for other stuff. Stuff that doesn't benefit you. Imagine a situation where you (for whatever reason) buy a lot of junk food at your local supermarket. You have a loyalty card, and are using it to save up points. By using that loyalty card, you are giving the supermarket permission to track what you are buying. You may also be giving them the right to sell that information. Perhaps to an insurance company you are looking to buy life insurance from. All of a sudden, your premiums go up because you buy a lot of junk food (even though it may not actually be for you). Now, add in data from streaming services (which, even if they don't already sell the info, you can bet the terms of conditions of service give them the freedom to sell it). Now, I doubt that you watching dodgy 80s action movies on Netflix is going to massively impact your life, but the technology exists, should some company decide to, to merge all this info into a nice, handy, profile which companies trying to sell you services (such as life insurance or loans/mortgages) can use to determine your lifestyle. Even if the use of such info is illegal, companies will actively lobby governments to get the law changed.

Linear channels cannot track your personal information even if the owners wanted to.

[buckeye]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Linear channels cannot track your personal information even if the owners wanted to.

VM, BT and Talk Talk all have an upstream from their TV boxes and can track what every customer is watching.
I suspect that as a broadband connection is required for Sky's on demand service they do the same.

I have anecdotal evidence that VM do track their customers usage,
when I recently renegotiated my contract the agent tried to upsell me a V6 box and higher TV package, I explained I hardly ever use my Tivo and don't need a different box or package, within a few seconds he replied "oh no you don't do you".

Its not beyond a stretch of the imagination to think that carriage agreements with linear suppliers would include the sharing of what is being watched on their channels, but I don't think the law would allow the sharing of who is watching those channels.