Kev wrote:

They may do in the interim, but after switch over the two non-BBC
Freeview multiplexes will only be broadcast from a maximum of 200 sites,
compared with 1,100 sites that the prime BBC and ITV multiplexes and one
of there secondary multiplexes (either BBC or ITV will get two).

Basically by moving ITV1 et al to Multiplex C or D will result in it
having Channel 5 style coverage, yet all the BBC stations, Channel 4 et
al will get much much better coverage.

[snip]

The big question is, would ITV want to be involved in yet another pay TV
operation seeing has both they have been involved in (ITV Digital in the
UK (Granada and Carlton) and Queireo in Spain (Carlton)) have gone bust,
and that they have been a successful FTA operation (especially with ITV2
and ITV3)

I agree, these two comments are telling. The question is around ITVs
long game - do they want to remain "public service universal" or do they
want to move away from it in to pay tv land - or indeed a mix with ITV 1
remaining on their own mux but others being hived off - I guess it
depends on the return of having ITV2 on their home mux versus the income
from using that slot for a pay tv channel to a wider audience.

I can see arguments both ways. I guess my main point was that ITV have
options sooner rather than later if they acquire TUTV, and they can plan
to move stuff around as and when they feel the commericals support it.

My thought is that if freeview does the sales grunt and over the next
few years boxes are routinely sold with slots ITV has the option to use
the potential customer base to start to think differently about *some*
content.

For example test cricket or golf might become viable to ITV if they can
offer them via CA on DTT as it's fairly limited in terms of the
bandwidth it needs (compared to say Premiership football) and could be
accomodated. Of course that's assuming their is an appetite amongst
freeview customers to subscribe, and I agree it's very possible that, by
their nature, they wouldn't.

Interesting choices for Mr Allen :-)

Mike GW8IJT wrote:



If ITV bought Top-Up TV, they would no doubt rename it to either ITV
Digital or OnDigital :-o/

I think that would be a bad mistake.
I think if ITV got hold of Top up, they should keep it quiet


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Since when is ITV3 on Freeview "non-terrestrial"? I do not have cable or
satellite reception, yet can get ITV3!


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

On Wed, 04 May 2005 17:55:29 GMT, Dave Farrance
wrote:

"DAB sounds worse than FM" wrote:

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?...ass=193&id=846

Notice that Freeview is "non-terrestrial", and that's the DTG!

Not quite. The article is attributed to "Lovelacemedia".

Seems that TopUp TV is "digital terrestrial", in the link below, though.

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?id=830

--
Peter Duncanson
UK

On Wed, 4 May 2005 15:05:45 +0100, "John Russell"
wrote:


wrote in message ...
If they do I think I free card valid for the length of your unused
subscription at the time of closure should be sent to all former ITV
Digital customers.

Personally I think the government should not allow ITV to purchase TopUp
TV. ITV's shrewd lawyers have already got ITV out of paying ITV
Digitals debt, which were caused by there own management incompetence,
when ITV as a whole had sufficient funds. Purchasing TopUp TV would
after a short while put ITV close to where they were before OnDigital
closed without the debt.

Malcolm

If could also mean the end of "freeview" in the true sense. ITV could start
using Top-UP TV as a "pay per view" supplier, moving special programs for
which advertising dosn't cover the cost to recover extra revenue.

The Freeview Multiplexs are protected and according to their licence
cannot carry encrypted programmes, unlike the ITV/C4 and SDN
multiplex.

So in that sense it would make no difference, what would be
interesting is if ITV are joining Freeview would they get away with
running a competing pay TV service.

My view is that in the long term Top Up TV is not viable, I am not
sure how long they have paid for their slots for, but now Freeview has
taken off the price of slots is going through the roof. Therefore Top
Up TV's business model based on requiring only a limitted number
subscribers is time limitted.

ITV are more likely to want to get the extra transmission space for
FTA programming, and for interactive advertising.

I think the future of ITV is more likely that you will end up at least
on some channels Adverts taking up part of the screen basically all
the time rather than encryption.

ITV have been talking about increasing the number of channels, to get
the benefit of cross refering people.

I think ITV have the sense to realise that FTA television is where
they do best. Though I think that the Extraview channel model if they
can get that working would probably work on ITV for pay per view.