UKTV Channels

[SRB]

I know BT are removing Watch and Alibi etc from old packages and no longer offer them to new customers, but am genuinely curious as to the reasoning behind this. Given they made such a big deal of the UKTV Channels being carried on their platform a few years back, has the deal struck back then simply come to an end? Why launch a new box (Pro) and then pull popular channels from the lineup? UKTV are replying on their own social media that it was a BT decision not to carry their content. That being the case, can customers not feed their feelings about this back to BT? It seems a really odd move to bundle kids channels in the packages, when these won't appeal to everyone, while at the same time drop channels which are popular with audiences? 

There are loads of comments and questions about this on this forum, but no definitive answers. Is it really simply a case that BT have decided "TV isn't for us" and are slowly winding the platform down? 

[NigelB72]

BT are moving away from their own carriage deals and moving everyone who wants BT TV to NowTV flexible packages. The channels in that package are controlled by Sky/NowTV

[SRB]

Well, yes, but why even bother with their own box at all ? Anyone new coming to the platform would be better off getting Sky or Now TV. Ok, the box allows you to record the Now channels, but it's hardly a mass selling point. If they want to stop TV altogether, they should just come out and admit it, close the platform and let people go elsewhere. People can easily get the Now channels themselves without committing themselves to a long term BT contract. Customers don't even own the boxes at the end. It's a seriously odd business move, no matter what angle you look at it from. 

[NigelB72]

The idea of a recordable set-top box that supports 4K HDR and has the ability to record the NowTV channels via the EPG at a price half of what Sky offers along with the flexibility to change packs each month will appeal to a lot of customers and will make them more sticky with their broadband contracts because that's ultimately where the money is. 

Individual carriage licenses are expensive and if the margins are big enough, it damages profits especially now that Disney, Discovery etc are gradually withdrawing their linear channels.

[SRB]

I guess time will tell, the BT TV platform has quite a small share as it is, dropping the offerings it has is highly unlikely to see that grow. If recording channels was that big a draw, Now would have rolled it out years ago, I do hope I'm wrong, but BT do have a long history of just not knowing what to do with their TV platform. The broadband, I have no issue with at all and will stick with them for it, but can't see me renewing the TV side of things. 

[NigelB72]

It all depends on what you want from your TV package which will determine value for money. We don't want 100 shopping channels and stuff that we won't watch and I find most of the Sky exclusives to be quite mundane and generic. So BT TV is the cheapest way for us to get Sky and BT Sport. The rest of our viewing content is directly from the providers on their own apps. 

Not including broadband, our total TV package is around £70 a month or £150 inc broadband and mobile. I priced up the same package through Sky and it would have been over £200 with slower broadband..

[ney]

@SRB Im also thinking of not renewing the TV side of BT TV for Now Big Entertainment with HD add on when the TV contract is up for it in March next year and just getting Now for the Big Entertainment plus HD add on direct from Now.

I do at times record the Now channels but 85% of content is also on catch up/on demand.

I do watch sport but not enough to be paying for it.

I did at first miss not having W or Alibi when I moved from the BT Entertainment Max HD to Now with BT but got used to not having the channels.

Also I have been using the BT TV Player even less since I moved to Now with BT and now hardly watch AMC. So would not miss not having AMC that much.

Will keep BT for FTTC for now as still got over another 14 months to go on that and have had very little problems with BT FTTC since they gave me the Home 6(smart Hub) back at the start of 2019.

Darren

[scharter]

I did the same. Curated a list of channels I watch, dissected it to what I watch most, some, hardly.

Decided the Entertainment Plus (or whatever it was called) was not worth paying or.....BUT  the BT Big Sport package fitted perfectly, and having compared prices and packages BT was the cheapest. Also the only TV provided which has flexible packages that do not require you to take the base package by default.

Now dismayed to learn  that BT are selling off their sports package, Danz and Discovery two of the favourites. Wonder where that will leave us.

[NigelB72]

@scharter I'd prefer them to sell to Discovery because they'll just incorporate it into Eurosport I'd imagine.. DAZN sounds like a mess and their long term plan is build a gambling platform off the back of their app...

[SRB]

Perhaps for Sport, they have hit their intended market - it just isn't my thing, so a better choice of entertainment channels would be a better fit for me as a customer, I do wonder though, given the ease with which they dropped their other offerings, if they'll take the same attitude to their Sport offerings once they sell. I would have gone to Sky, they offered me a very competitive deal with same speed fibre, but once I started to add in multiroom options, BT was by far cheaper.