New Virgin Media carriage dispute- 30 channels due to be removed from midnight tomorrow.

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  • If only they concentrated on making decent shows rather than all the pissing around.

    I wonder if the addition of My5 and MTV Classics to the VM platform are the stumbling blocks? Maybe VM want them thrown in at no extra cost and Viacom don't accept this?

    Could be Richard and the current CBS and Viacom remerger maybe a factor too. VM has always said it wants full access to on demand stuff in carriage negotiations with content companies, but would that include all the streamers that ViacomCBS plan to launch?

    I miss MTV Classics. The only decent MTV channel that still exists.

  • Perhaps. That wouldn't surprise me as, much like broadcast radio, music video channels are in decline. After difficult negotiations, both parties try to paint themselves as having got the deal they always wanted giving the viewers more of what they want for less. So fairly typical comments.

  • Perhaps. That wouldn't surprise me as, much like broadcast radio, music video channels are in decline. After difficult negotiations, both parties try to paint themselves as having got the deal they always wanted giving the viewers more of what they want for less. So fairly typical comments.

    Well, after the UKTV dispute, VM don't seem to be afraid of asking for reduced carriage fees to the point of removing the relevant channels temporarily (or permanently if needs be).

    It would be very interesting to know what was agreed upon to make the ITV retransmission fee dispute go away. I suspect that VM either agreed to pay them in return for additional content, or that they agreed to buy extra services in exchange for dropping the request for retransmission fees (enabling ITV to get extra money, whilst allowing VM to save face after saying that they would always refuse to pay them).

  • As I've said before, they should stop offering bundled deals to the broadcasters, blurring the lines between pay-tv and advertiser supported channels. As viewing patterns change over the years and audiences desert some of the formerly popular channels, VM needs to use the audience stats to reduce any fees paid for any channels haemorrhaging viewers. It seems they still don't quite seem to have perfected the art and tend to end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater...

    AFAIK Carolyn McCall has significantly different views to the previous CEO at ITV, preferring to increase funds from the pay-tv elements of ITV.

  • Which types of viewing data are they collecting JJ20X? I can imagine requests for on-demand content, I've always assumed that. I know they have series link backups and the thumbs data because that carried over upgrading to from Tivo to V6. Given we lose Favourites when channels move multiplex on the network, and that I redid those upon getting a new box, I'll guess not those.

    Given you can set recordings remotely, they probably collect at least some of that.

    Do they actually monitor what channel numbers are typed in, or channels picked to view from the EPG? How long we are on them?

    I'm assuming since implementing Adsmart more is being collected than before.

  • As far as recordings go, they are visible to customers remotely so will also visible to VM. The boxes have a return path, so VM will also be able to monitor things such as channels viewed live and for how long. They won't know if the channel is actually being viewed by a person or playing to an empty room, so it's not entirely accurate.

  • Well, the channels are still on VM, but I do hope that Viacom (and VM) see sense here and take this opportunity for a "refresh" of the channel portfolio, considering the "quality" is currently spread like thin gruel. Also, now that we're in the streaming age and with content companies staring to withhold content for their own services, I wonder if this may impact any deal between VM and Viacom.

    Once CBS and Viacom remerge again and if you include the CBS joint venture channels with AMC, this is what ViacomCBS will control on VM:

    105: Channel 5

    132: Comedy Central

    133: Comedy Central +1

    134: MTV

    148: CBS Reality

    149: horror channel

    150: CH5 HD

    151: 5 STAR

    152: 5 SELECT

    153: 5 USA

    154: 5 Spike

    155: Ch5 +1

    181: Comedy Central HD

    182: Comedy Central Extra

    183: MTV HD

    184: BET

    185: 5 USA+1

    186: 5 STAR +1

    187: Paramount Network HD

    188: Paramount Network

    192: CBS Justice

    197: CBS Drama

    201: CBS Reality +1

    202: Horror channel +1

    310: MTV Music

    311: MTV Music Live HD

    312: MTV Hits

    313: MTV Base

    314: Club MTV

    315: MTV Rocks

    316: VH-1

    318: MTV OMG

    712: Nickelodeon

    713: Nick +1

    714: Nick HD

    715: Nick jnr

    716: Nick jnr too

    717: Nick toons

    Too many bloody channels!

    But even with that lot, we're still missing a few which are on Sky:

    Comedy Central Extra +1

    5Spike +1

    MTV Classic

    MTV Music +1

    Yanga (like BET)

    So, what should happen to all these channels? Personally, although brands like MTV are well known and I think Spike is a good brand, I reckon Channel 5 should be renamed CBS and then have a selected collection of CBS offshoot channels, pretty much like there is now. I would have HD versions of all channels and lose the SD variants now and as I like the +1s, I would still keep them.

    CBS makes good shows and perhaps its high time they start putting all their own shows on their own channels.

  • Brand recognition for CBS brand in UK isn't anywhere like as high as Channel 5. I can't see any point, it's just a set of letters that will be meaningless and cost money to implement.

    Similarly Sky is much more valuable a brand than NBC for Comcast in UK and other places outside US.

  • I agree that the CBS brand is unknown here, but is Channel 5 really a strong brand??

    I think this amount of channels and with all different branding ranging from the Ch5 channels, to the CBS branded ones and the viacom brands, is just too much of a mess now.

    Well, they tried to change it to five, but everyone still called it Channel 5, so Viacom ended up changing it back again when they bought it!

    As it's the fifth of the five PSB channels, I don't think that renaming it would benefit them in any way. As for the offshoots, That's a different thing altogether.

  • I doubt that the UK channel management teams will change significantly. There isn't much to merge in the UK. As you say, the "CBS" branded channels here are managed by AMC. They seem worse than Viacom when it comes to spreading content thinly.

  • Well, they tried to change it to five, but everyone still called it Channel 5, so Viacom ended up changing it back again when they bought it!

    As it's the fifth of the five PSB channels, I don't think that renaming it would benefit them in any way. As for the offshoots, That's a different thing altogether.

    It was Richard Desmond, wasn't it, who switched it back to Channel 5 if my memory serves me correctly?:/

    I doubt that the UK channel management teams will change significantly. There isn't much to merge in the UK. As you say, the "CBS" branded channels here are managed by AMC. They seem worse than Viacom when it comes to spreading content thinly.

    This is what I don't understand. Viacom currently own the Paramount studios, so you'd think their channels would be filled with Paramount films (obviously not the new stuff currently licensed to Sky) and when CBS come onboard, then they'll control all the Star Trek, CSI franchises, so there's oodles of content, or should be.

  • I was thinking that too Horizon, as far as I recall it was Desmond. And typical of his stuff it came with tacky styling too, the word "channel" in a not particularly nice typeface above 5. Viacom brought in the current logo I think and dumped the "channel" again.

  • "Five" was RTL branding and was dumped under Desmond's management.

    Channel Five and Five Star have dabbled with movie content. Five Star still does to a lesser extent with much of the "TV movie" genre being moved onto Paramount. Expect to see some changes within the Channel Five stable as Ben Frow shifts the focus. Although I'm not sure this indicates a significant departure from the status quo: https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/channel-5/chan…5142563.article

    Channel 5 orders Neighbours spin-off

    The following link should make more sense to anyone not able to read behind the Broadcast Now paywall:

    https://www.tvwise.co.uk/2019/09/my5-or…nsborough-high/

  • It was Richard Desmond, wasn't it, who switched it back to Channel 5 if my memory serves me correctly?:/

    This is what I don't understand. Viacom currently own the Paramount studios, so you'd think their channels would be filled with Paramount films (obviously not the new stuff currently licensed to Sky) and when CBS come onboard, then they'll control all the Star Trek, CSI franchises, so there's oodles of content, or should be.

    Thinking about it, I think you're right.

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