I hate Sky/my cable company (reprise)

[inulro]

Head-up from ivory_goddess

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6389015.stm

Basically, starting next week, Sky 1 won't be available to cable subscribers in the UK.

Sky 1 is the main cable channel that I watch. Both flavours of Stargate are mid-series. Disaster!

I'm aware you can download everything from the net these days, but have previously been too lazy to bother. Regular readers will remember that I just bought a new comfy sofa, so watching stuff on the actual TV set is a lot more comfortable than downloading and watching in the computer room.

Seeing as Grey's Anatomy seems to have disappeared off Living for the time being, I don't think I'm watching anything current on any cable channel other than Sky 1, so if Virgin/Telewest/whoever my cable provider is this week won't give us a reduction in the bill when I call them on Monday, I might cancel the cable, get a Freeview box for More4 purposes, and learn to live with downloads. The bastards will still own us because we get our broadband and phone through them too, and no way am I dealing with changing our providers for those - there are levels of hassle to get equally shitty service that are simply not worth it.

I don't want to live with downloads. I don't care how uncool and dorky it is, I like coming home, turning on the TV and pressing play on the video to see everything that was on the previous evening, without commercials, and without thinking. For the most part we only watch TV when we're eating dinner, which is kind of awkward upstairs, and the rabbits get their time out of their cages, which they can't do if I'm upstairs.

The TV-free snobs amongst you can scoff as you like. I've heard it all before and I'm past caring.

Comments

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

That's really annoying. I'll miss Stargate and BSG, but there's no way I'm getting a satellite dish.

[sheepthief.livejournal.com]

Fortunately vodkafrenzy has her PC close enough to the telly for me to run a video-out cable to it. We don't have have any TV other than 4 terrestrial channels and only one of those is clear, so everything I watch is downloaded - not that I watch much, but I do like my animated comedy and QI's.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

We don't have a computer downstairs, and would be pushed to find somewhere to put one.

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

Hadn't thought of asking for a discount... won't get one, but it's one way of registering my displeasure with the whole situation (tho' I'm still inclined to think this is more Sky than Virgin/ntl).

In fact, I was slightly wrong - it's 1st March the service will be discontinued to cable customers, not next week. And there is apparently still some hope for a last-minute agreement, inasmuch as Sky will lose a heck of a lot of advertising revenue if they suddenly become unavailable to 3 million cable customers - reducing their potential market by around 20% (or something). That's the sort of thing that might incline them to play ball - assuming it is Sky being difficult, which is, of course, impossible to tell.

Then again, Sky may just be assuming that all the affected cable customers will promptly get a Sky box instead...

[inulro.livejournal.com]

Erm - 1st of March is next week!

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I realised that later on...

[aoakley.livejournal.com]

The problem is that Sky are arguing that they only sell bundles of channels, and if Virgin want Sky One, they have to pay for Sky 2/3, Sky Travel etc.

Virgin's argument is that they're happy to pay the premium for Sky One, but the other channels are toss and they won't pay.

That would be a lot less hypocritical if, say, Virgin allowed their customers to pick and choose to pay on a channel-by-channel basis too.

Sky aren't doing anything to Virgin, that Virgin don't already do to their existing customers. That's not to say they aren't all wankers, mind.

My suggested solution: Get a DVD player that plays back DivX/Xvid (my recommendation is the Cyberhome 401 or indeed any Cyberhome DVD/DivX player/recorder; avoid Liteon).

Then get your favourite geek to deal with BitTorrent and burn them to DVD data disc.

Works for my missus.

I have Sky but I barely watch it. I watch bittorrented DivX/Xvid files on my DVD/DivX player instead.