Sky's Branding

The enormous costs of the Premier League rights have in fact caused Sky to cut on a few services - Sky Arts 2 and Sky 3D could have been the casualties of this (though there was a strong desire to merge both Arts channel into a single service and 3D was a lost cause).

Sky also have NOW TV to make a lot of money, making up for the increasing threshold at which their pay TV platform can attract new homes. Also, they've placed some importance on FTA, especially as they've invested more on Pick.

On a side issue, the premier league sold the Chinese rights recently for a massive hike on the current deal. So much money is flowing in from overseas, the PL could actually renew the existing UK 2015-2018 deal for the same cost, and get the shortfall escalator from abroad...

..but they won't. They'll string Sky and BT along again, make them think there are new bidders for the packages, and make the UK tv and broadband/phone customers pick up the cost of washing the blood off the Premier Leagues hands.

Is it me or does anyone know that Sky are slowly given up on Sky Living?

Since they dumped original programming there has been less to nothing in terms of both marketing and publicity for what it used to be a jewel in the crown of pay channel market. I know saw the billboard marketing push for Sky Living the other day but it's nothing like it was a few years ago.

If Sky were to revive Living it should have similar strategy to UKTV's W channel.

I wouldn't care if Sky Living is closed or rebranded, seems like Sky brought Flextech/Virgin Media Television for the juicy content and the attempt to address female that it has failed. That could leave Challenge as a last remaining Flextech channel still broadcasting.

They shunned the female-orientated lifestyle stuff a while ago. The problem now though is they have three channels (1, Living and Atlantic) with extremely similar programmes.

To be fair on Sky Living, it has now become a marketing tool for Sky Box Sets on demand, summing up the investment on the channel becoming little to nothing.

Unless Sky are bluffing.


Domestic cricket is certainly one product which really has not reached it's full TV potential and seperation from the England deal would be good for it. It will always play second fiddle to the England team on Sky.

On the topic of Cricket, given Channel 4 lost the racing rights until 2020, at least, how tempted could they be to bid for Test Cricket at the next tendering round?

One other thing to consider, Sky has 7 sports channels, 1-5, F1 and Mix. Does it really need all those channels?

I think spreading content too thinly is a huge problem for Sky as a whole. With their three core brands there is wildly similar programming - but each channel has a steady slate of new shows and marketing. I don't see Sky Living being neglected at all, just that it doesn't get as much attention as Sky1 and Atlantic. Just as how Sky1 and Atlantic have original productions, I think Living should have the same.



Doubt it that much - they've been marketing shows coming on the channel such as Conviction and Blindspot. Original content is sorely needed on Sky Living however - I don't think spreading content from tired Sky1 programming or dominating prime time with imports is a good enough idea.

Now Sky2 on the other hand...that would be ideal to close but that squeezes out quite a bit of revenue and provides people a chance to catch up on Sky1 content.

It depends. As I've pointed out in the Sky Sports Mix thread there are some days where there is live sport exclusive to that channel, presumably because the other five are full up. Whether it needs a seperately branded F1 channel that'll be showing virtually nothing live from tomorrow until March is another matter (last year it briefly became Sky Sports Darts but they're doing it with SS3 this year.

I've just caught the start of an old Simpsons episode on Sky 1 where the American TV Ratings symbol was present in the corner. Is it my imagination or are these never usually burnt into a programme's title sequence?

I guess in a way having a channel which shows nothing for the next 3-4 months and then virtually nothing during the week is worth it for giving them an extra channel which has little obligation to show live sport other than every other weekend for 9 months, and as it's F1 branded nobody questions it.

As a viewer for Sky 1 since the old ''Blue solids'' days, I have never seen an American TV Rating symbol at the beginning of a Simpsons episode ever.