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From August 12th (July 2014)

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NG
noggin Founding member
rdd posted:
The problem with the genre based names is that it creates an expectation that the channel will be, if not exclusively, then primarily composed of events of that sport.

Take Sky Sports F1 - it lies idle between December and March while other sports are getting moved to the red button because they can't be moved to Sky Sports F1 because of the expectation that the channel will show, if not exclusively F1, certainly motorsport related programming.

You end up having to run more channels in the end and having them idle far more often. There'd also certainly be a need for at least one "generic" channel to cover stuff like tennis, GAA, professional wrestling, and the like that Sky have rights for but couldn't justify a channel of their own.


Sky Sports F1 is a special case though - as it is in a different subscription bracket to the other Sky Sports channels. You don't need a Sky Sports subscription for the F1 channel IF you have an HD subscription. You only needed a Sky Sports sub to get it if you were SD only. This may have changed but I doubt it - I suspect Bernie was keen to have a larger viewing base than pure SS subscribers.
RD
rdd Founding member
nwtv2003 posted:
[
Although I'm quite amazed that as late as 1997 that the The Movie Channel was still a name they were using. You get the feeling that the 1997 egg branding at Sky was meant to last into the Digital era,


It was. There was a Sky Digital logo featuring the egg, and it appeared on pre-launch Sky EPG screenshots and early viewing cards, digiboxes and remote controls. The Mark I swoosh logo only appeared very close to Sky Digital's launch and appears to have been a late change of plan - then again Sky rebranded so often in those days that you never know.

I never got the "Sky the Movie Channel" thing though, although CAs only ever refered to it as just "The Movie Channel" right up to its demise.
NW
nwtv2003
rdd posted:
I never got the "Sky the Movie Channel" thing though, although CAs only ever refered to it as just "The Movie Channel" right up to its demise.


The Sky Movie Channel would have made more sense I guess, but as you said they never referred to it as Sky The Movie Channel, it was always the The Movie Channel, as was The Comedy Channel in the early days, even though it was a (albeit short lived) Sky channel.

Anyway in 1997 they didn't spend millions telling you that things were changing....

BR
Brekkie
noggin posted:
rdd posted:
The problem with the genre based names is that it creates an expectation that the channel will be, if not exclusively, then primarily composed of events of that sport.

Take Sky Sports F1 - it lies idle between December and March while other sports are getting moved to the red button because they can't be moved to Sky Sports F1 because of the expectation that the channel will show, if not exclusively F1, certainly motorsport related programming.

You end up having to run more channels in the end and having them idle far more often. There'd also certainly be a need for at least one "generic" channel to cover stuff like tennis, GAA, professional wrestling, and the like that Sky have rights for but couldn't justify a channel of their own.


Sky Sports F1 is a special case though - as it is in a different subscription bracket to the other Sky Sports channels. You don't need a Sky Sports subscription for the F1 channel IF you have an HD subscription. You only needed a Sky Sports sub to get it if you were SD only. This may have changed but I doubt it - I suspect Bernie was keen to have a larger viewing base than pure SS subscribers.

I can't see the HD subscription base not subscribed to Sky Sports being that significant.

Is Sky Sports News now in the sports pack or is it still available to all Sky subscribers?
VM
VMPhil
"Now finding your favourite movies on Sky will be easier than ever" By the change of a channel name, sure Smile
DV
dvboy
noggin posted:
rdd posted:
The problem with the genre based names is that it creates an expectation that the channel will be, if not exclusively, then primarily composed of events of that sport.

Take Sky Sports F1 - it lies idle between December and March while other sports are getting moved to the red button because they can't be moved to Sky Sports F1 because of the expectation that the channel will show, if not exclusively F1, certainly motorsport related programming.

You end up having to run more channels in the end and having them idle far more often. There'd also certainly be a need for at least one "generic" channel to cover stuff like tennis, GAA, professional wrestling, and the like that Sky have rights for but couldn't justify a channel of their own.


Sky Sports F1 is a special case though - as it is in a different subscription bracket to the other Sky Sports channels. You don't need a Sky Sports subscription for the F1 channel IF you have an HD subscription. You only needed a Sky Sports sub to get it if you were SD only. This may have changed but I doubt it - I suspect Bernie was keen to have a larger viewing base than pure SS subscribers.


It has changed, it's now in the Sports pack. SSN isn't however.
RD
rdd Founding member
Still available to all HD subscribers in Ireland at any rate, which something I'd obviously forgotten in that post!

http://www.sky.com/products/sky-tv/original-bundle/index-roi.html (click on Show beside "Original Bundle HD Channels" and Sky Sports F1 is listed).
FO
fodg09
http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/9407619/

New video of the studio - including the 'investigations' desk.
RD
rdd Founding member
UPC Ireland aren't moving Sky Sports News from its present place of 408, but their solution to make room for Sky Sports 5 is interesting - they've moved Setanta Ireland from 401 to 400 and Premier Sports from 406 to 401, with Sky Sports 5 slotting in at 406 between Sky Sports 4 and ESPN.
BR
Brekkie
Seems they've used a bit of common sense then.
RD
rdd Founding member
New look quite nice - music is a new arrangement but still includes the melody from the old theme.

The move to mixed case throughout looks very well.

Also seems Sky Sports in general has a new look?
HA
harshy Founding member
The graphics look less flatter then in an iPad screenshot yesterday, it looks like they've just changed the font and left aligned it, it lacks the wow factor but that's perhaps I am watching in SD.

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