back to article BT, Sky bury hatchet with deal to sell each other's telly channels

BT and Sky have set aside their long-running feud and signed a deal to sell their channels on each other's platforms in the UK. Under the deal, BT will supply its sports channels, which show UEFA Champions League and Premier League football, to Sky. In return BT will be able to sell Sky's Now TV service, which includes Sky …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A nice cosy cartel.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        The Dirty Digger's no idiot

        Exactly my thoughts. Andrew Neil (who has vast experience of the man) was being interviewed yesterday, suggesting it was some kind of failure of the murdoch dynastic ambitions, where his children would fight to the death and the survivor inherit the empire. Bollocks I say. Rupe has seen the writing on the wall for traditional media and has ejected from the nose diving plane.

        1. Tom 38

          Re: The Dirty Digger's no idiot

          murdoch dynastic ambitions, where his children would fight to the death and the survivor inherit the empire. Bollocks I say.

          Indeed - he's actually split it in two, James will almost certainly take a role at Disney, hoping to eventually become Chairman. James (apparently) does not like the Digger's political papers, so he is glad of it, whilst Lachlan is being groomed to be the next Fox News/News International boss.

    2. Blitheringeejit
      Flame

      Re: Cartel

      And more specifically, a cartel of companies who are both content *and* connectivity providers. That's where the regulation should be happening but never will, because politicians in the UK are too fucking thick to understand the difference between content and connectivity. The same thing is currently happening in the States with Trump's Net Neutrality repeal.

      We're rapidly heading towards having our connectivity provided by companies who need to leverage it to sell us their proprietory content, and thus have a compelling commercial incentive to degrade performance when delivering content from elsewhere.

      So we're probably watching the gradual demise, or at least the sidelining, of the genuine internet - in favour of end-to-end commercial lockins by the big media companies.

      Oh frabjous day...

      1. Warm Braw

        Re: both content *and* connectivity providers

        Actually, the trend is in the other direction: the cable companies (in the US) are losing their grip on content (to Amazon, Netflix, et al) and the Sky platform is becoming less relevant as a middleman now that the content providers can deliver directly to their subscribers. There was an argument for separating the platforms from the content a decade or so ago, but not so much now.

        Of course, as the connectivity providers lose their lucrative over-the-top income they will become more attractive takeover propositions - particularly if they use the net neutrality rules to exact tolls from the content providers for the use of their networks which will incentivise the content providers to buy them out. So enjoy the brief period between the collapse of one cartel and the creation of another...

  2. Pen-y-gors

    BT + TV? Why?

    I wish BT would drop this whole silly TV online thing - then they could reduce their prices to something sensible.

    1. A K Stiles

      Re: BT + TV? Why?

      Oh wow! Thanks for that - haven't laughed that much in ages! - looks like you forgot the joke icon though...

    2. ad47uk

      Re: BT + TV? Why?

      B T and price reduction should not be in the same sentence. Anyway if it costs too much change suppliers.

  3. Dr. G. Freeman

    Question is, does that mean there'll be anything decent to watch ?

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Of course not. But whatever it is will be reassuringly expensive.

  4. MikeGH

    Shame that it will take them a year to get things moving, it would be great if the YouView boxes from BT could actually do the full NowTV/Amazon Video line ups

  5. I Am Spartacus

    But can I get F1 on my BT account

    See the title?

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

      Re: But can I get F1 on my BT account

      Sky have exclusive F1 from this year don't they? So you'll be able to subscribe to Sky Sports via Now TV. Which I believe you can do for £5 a day? That's £100 for twenty races - don't know if that's cheaper than any other option.

      1. ad47uk

        Re: But can I get F1 on my BT account

        F1 got boring, electric car racing is better and that is free on Channel 5. come to think of it, kart racing is better than f1.

        .

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So what does this mean in practice?

    I have BT sport on my Sky box ( I used to have Sky Sports on my BT TV Box ). Does this mean I just pay Sky instead of BT? Does it mean that I can get BT Sport 4k on Sky?

    Will I be able to watch BT Sport on my Sky Q Miniboxes instead of casting the BT Sport app to the upstairs Chromecast?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. UnkDB

      I pay way too much money at the moment for football coverage from both BT and SKY.

      Hopefully, because I currently have the "all the Sky I can eat" deal, the BT channels will get absorbed into that and I won't be paying extra form BT Sport and extra on top of that for BT Sport HD.

      But I bet they still manage to screw me over somehow.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yep, you'll just get the option to buy and view the Sky packages through your BT account, and vice-versa. I put 50p on you still have to buy each set of packages separately.

        It'll be interesting to see the price difference, if any.

      2. Gio Ciampa

        " I won't be paying extra form BT Sport and extra on top of that for BT Sport HD"

        ...of course you will...

    3. Roland6 Silver badge

      >So what does this mean in practice?

      BT's and Sky's interests are slightly more in alignment, making it more in BT's interests to deploy residential FTTC/FTTP.

  7. MJI Silver badge

    Pay TV

    From what I have come across unless you are addicted to sport stick and want more than the free stuff, go to the main streamers, Netfix and Amazon.

    Most of those pay channels are no better than the cruft which fills Freeview and Freesat, lost have irritating logos.

    Being able to select a programme and watch it when I want, no adverts, no logo, no local hard disk storage required.

    I think they are onto a winner.

    1. tsf

      Re: Pay TV

      Sorry, can we stop perpetuating the myth that Netflix and Amazon are replacements for terrestrial/satellite/cable TV

      I have Amazon Prime and friends with Netflix, and unless all you watch are box sets and movies they don't have the variety that the other services offer.

      You very quickly exhaust the selection of what you want to watch from the choice available if that's all you watch.

      So until these services dramatically expand their service just stop it!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Pay TV

        Yes but most tv series end up on Netflix albeit after a while.

      2. MJI Silver badge

        Re: Pay TV

        Aghhh I said pay TV

        As I said the average pay TV channel is no better than many of the free ones on the Freeview and Freesat systems.

        I did not say to replace Freeview and Freesat, just pay TV.

        Amazon or Netflix can very happily replace Sky or Virgin.

        Doesn't stop me watching BBC 1 2 4 News 24

      3. ad47uk

        Re: Pay TV

        i have not had a Tv licence for over a year now and have not watched any normal Tv in that time. I watch Netflix and now TV, now and again i will watch something from the catch up from Channel 5 and 4.

        I went for almost 3 years without a TV licence and not watching terrestrial TV, I did not miss it, the only reason I went back to it was because I was ill off work for 11 months, so I thought it would give me something different to watch, bad mistake.

        So for me, netflix and now Tv can replace terrestrial TV, plus you Tube.

  8. ColonelClaw

    Serious question - Am I correct in thinking that the UK's Sky TV will no longer be owned or run by a Murdoch after (or if) the Disney deal goes through? Reason I ask is that I've always objected to Sky on the grounds that their politics are disgusting, and James Murdoch is a massive see you next Tuesday.

    If this is the case I can finally subscribe to Sky guilt-free!

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Except they will probably employ a junior Turdoch for a while

    2. Tom 38

      Quoting grauniad (who are quoting the FT, so...)

      According to the Financial Times, Rupert Murdoch and his younger son, James, could take senior roles at a combined company if a deal is struck. Iger, 66, is due to retire in 2019 and James Murdoch, 44, currently chief executive of 21st Century Fox and chairman of the satellite broadcaster Sky, is a possible successor.

  9. rob_leady
    Pirate

    Now if BT started offering BT Sport to those who weren't either Sky or BT subscribers, and at a sensible price, they *might* get a bit more business in.

    Believe it or not BT, there are people who might want to watch say the cricket or rugby, who have don't have broadband through you, don't have a satellite dish, and would rather not spend money on streaming services of dubious legality, that may or not be around next week.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "Now if BT started offering BT Sport to those who weren't either Sky or BT subscribers, and at a sensible price, they *might* get a bit more business in."

      BT Sport has been included in the higher end Virgin Media TV packages almost from the start. Sky Sports are available as an extra.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who watches sport anyway?

    What's the point?

  11. Roger Mew

    Manure in bulk

    There are so many "opportunities" to re watch something I have given up. The manure shown falls into the really cr4p situation with now repeats of repeats and even specialised channels of repeats. For example Pick does exactly that, it picks something that it has shown before in the last week and replays it, how about drama, all are more or less repeats of repeats already shown. Even the Beeb has jumped on the bandwagon of showing repeats of repeats. Frankly anybody stupid enough to pay for a TV licence needs his head read and pick and watch only on the internet and save the money for buying a collection of DVD's. To have a licence you only need to watch a program that is simutaneously being transmitted over the air and is receivable. You can therefore sit in a tunnel watching live TV as it cannot be received off air. You can also watch US TV being broadcast as again it is not possible to watch live off air. Watching though french TV on satellite in the UK needs a licence.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Manure in bulk Yes!

      And they have programs about programs and programs about people watching programs. Self feeding repetition.

    2. MJI Silver badge

      Re: Manure in bulk

      Blue Planet 2 was worth my licence fee.

      Fantastic TV BBC does best

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Manure in bulk

        Blue Planet 2 was worth my licence fee.

        Photographically one of the most striking, even amazing programmes I've ever seen, albeit with an overdose of repetitive "swing the camera round into the lights" scenes, and overcooked dramatic music. However, if (apart from the New Year's Day special) we've seen the sum total of final content from four years of filming, then it wasn't a very productive exercise. A further negative vibe is that the scientific and educational content was so thin that I was left knowing little more than before the programme began.

        If there's a second series waiting in the wings, I'll be pleased - but I doubt that they'll address the essentially lightweight content.

  12. ad47uk

    Makes no difference to me, I am not a sporty person and i certainly have no interest in that game where people kick a ball around a field, then again I do not watch TV, no TV licence here. I do use Netflix and pay for now Tv now and again.

    I doubt this deal will make watching sports cheaper and it will be all about football as it normally is in this country.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    BT only agrees to sell Now TV?

    What's actually changed here for BT customers (apart from the inevitable price increase at some point)? I have a BT TV box, and I'm pretty sure it already has a NowTV app on it. There is nothing stopping BT customers taking any of Sky's internet TV packages out right now.

    You don't even need a BT TV box, Sky frequently flog NowTV boxes off so cheaply that you pay less for the box than the included voucher would cost online (by the way if you're after one of these, at least look at a cheap ROKU instead - it's the same box without sky software and the only one where you can get netflix, amazon and sky (if you want) afaik).

    Is the only change that Sky customers can get BT sport for free? In other words, BT have managed to screw some cash out of Sky and this is a way to sell it without Sky losing face?

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