{ADSL Guide} Sky by Broadband reborn as Sky Anytime

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/newsarchive.asp?item=2892

Sky by Broadband was originally born as a free add-on for subscribers to the
Sky Movies satellite TV packages. The service has now relaunched as Sky
Anytime still offering free movie downloads, but has enlarged to offer other
content that people can pay to download. The service is currently only
available to PC users and 3G mobile users.

Pricing for download services is still in its infancy, so it remains to be
seen whether UK audiences will pay £2.50 for an episode of Lost, or £1.50
for a Stargate episode. Stuff.tv has more on the relaunch.

We aren't sure that £2.50 for a show that is around 45 minutes long if you
don't count the adverts is very good value for money. Particularly as the
episodes are often repeated later in the same week, certainly anyone
downloading and paying for a complete series really needs to consider buying
the boxed set. If the idea of offering content for legal download is meant
to reduce the amount of illegal file sharing, it needs to be down at a price
point that appeals to a shows target audience. One possible alternative is
to offer a monthly subscription option.

In message <(E-Mail Removed)>, J Drake
<(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>http://www.adslguide.org.uk/newsarchive.asp?item=2892
>
>Sky by Broadband was originally born as a free add-on for subscribers to the
>Sky Movies satellite TV packages. The service has now relaunched as Sky
>Anytime still offering free movie downloads, but has enlarged to offer other
>content that people can pay to download. The service is currently only
>available to PC users and 3G mobile users.
>
>Pricing for download services is still in its infancy, so it remains to be
>seen whether UK audiences will pay £2.50 for an episode of Lost, or £1.50
>for a Stargate episode. Stuff.tv has more on the relaunch.
>
>We aren't sure that £2.50 for a show that is around 45 minutes long if you
>don't count the adverts is very good value for money. Particularly as the
>episodes are often repeated later in the same week, certainly anyone
>downloading and paying for a complete series really needs to consider buying
>the boxed set. If the idea of offering content for legal download is meant
>to reduce the amount of illegal file sharing, it needs to be down at a price
>point that appeals to a shows target audience. One possible alternative is
>to offer a monthly subscription option.
>
>

A similar service is available in the US for approx $0.99 per episode,
what's that work out to? Around 50p? Much more reasonable.

If it was a reasonable price (i.e. similar to the US charge) and
available at the same time or very shortly afterwards as the US
broadcast, then it might be worthwhile, as it stands there is no
incentive for anyone not to "illegally" download the same thing for
free.

--
Sean Black

> A similar service is available in the US for approx $0.99 per episode,
> what's that work out to? Around 50p? Much more reasonable.

In the USA the broadcasters are covered by the FCC which is very good at
keeping them in check. They did this early on with sat broadcasters by
stopping them charging vast sums and making them charge a smallish fixed
fee for each program and customers get to decide what they want in a
package. Its pity Blair is not more like this instead of bending over for
Murdoch every time.

Dave