BSkyB vanishes from Virgin
p2pnet.net news:- Richard Branston and Rupert Murdoch are in effect locking horns over a deal for Sky channels to be carried on the Virgin cable network.
“Virgin revealed that it had made a last-ditch offer for the dispute to be settled by an arbitrator but this was immediately rejected by Sky,” says The Independent. “The two companies cannot agree on a price that Virgin must pay to carry’s Sky’s package of basic channels, which includes Sky One and Sky News. The current arrangement ended at midnight last night.”
Virgin Media customer John Gullidge told BBC Radio Five Live his screen went blank, says the BBC.
“It’s disgusting, I’m really angry about the whole situation,” the story has him saying. “I signed up with NTL for the package, largely based on Sky One because I’m a big fan of all the American shows they have and I’ve just been abroad for a week. I’ve just got back to find I’ve got no more Sky One.”
Virgin says Sky wants 100% price increase, “while the satellite group insisted the rise was 20 per cent,” says The Independent, going on:
“Steve Burch, Virgin Media’s chief executive, said: ‘For too long, cable allowed Sky to have its own way. That’s not going to happen any longer … they never really intended to negotiate in good faith’.
Virgin Media now wants a previously signed deal on the carriage of Virgin channels on Sky’s satellite network to be renegotiated, says the story.
“According to Mr Burch, that deal, inked a month ago, was signed ‘under complete duress’ and involved an 85 per cent reduction in price. According to him, the difference in the price between the value assigned to Virgin’s channels by Sky and Sky’s own valuation of its channels was 1,700 per cent.”
The dispute, “came as Virgin Media revealed that 37,000 customers had left the company during the final three months of 2006, before the firm’s rebranding,” says the BBC.
“On Monday, the government ordered media regulator Ofcom to investigate BSkyB’s controversial purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV. BSkyB’s decision to buy into ITV was seen by some as an attempt to block a bid for the firm from its then rival NTL.
“The government said it had asked the watchdog to advise on whether November’s share deal was against the public interest.”
Meanwhile, the BBC Trust has provisionally approved a BBC satellite version of Freeview with monthly fees.
“Up to now, Rupert Murdoch’s Sky has had the satellite market to itself in the UK,” said The Independent in an earlier story. “The company does offer its own free satellite deal but it is not heavily promoted and rivals have been suspicious of Sky’s commitment to it. Sky has 8.4 million paying customers.”
Also See:
The Independent – Sky and Virgin Media trade insults as deadline passes, March 1, 2007
BBC – BSkyB channels taken off Virgin, March 1, 2007
provisionally approved – Free BBC satellite TV, March 1, 2007
The Independent – BBC to press ahead with free satellite TV, February 28, 2007
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