@nicka2 wrote:
Thanks for this. I am a Times subscriber, and read that article when it was originally published. In a previous life when I was a Sky subscriber, I was able to add BT Sport to my Sky package and paid a monthly subscription direct to BT. I doubt very much any UK broadcaster will take up the rights from HotStar and simply wondered if Virgin would be integrating the HotStar monthly subscription within their package (to allow recording of early starts - the Tests all commence at 04:00 UK time - etc), as Sky previously did for BT Sport.
Firstly, Sky did not “allow” BT onto their platform. They are rivals. Sky does not own the satellites they use, they just rent space on them. There are also three uplink sites in the UK, one owned by BT, one by Arqiva & the other by Sky. The encryption system Sky use is also open source under an agreement with OFCOM, so any broadcaster can add a channel or channels to Sky cards & take the subscription from the customer direct, which is what BT did. The only thing BT have been paying Sky for is the EPG slots. It is only recently that they have buried the hatchet & you can now pay Sky a combined subscription.
As far as Virgin are concerned, theirs is a closed system & all charges for linear channels have to be controlled by them as they own all the “transmission” equipment. Hence you pay for BT Sports to Virgin & not direct to BT. One of the reasons for the initial delays in signing a deal with BT Sports when it first started was BTs reluctance to let Virgin control their subscriptions.
If a deal cannot be struck with existing linear outputs it is likely to be a streaming app (Disney+ would be the obvious one) that will provide access.
Virgin BB TV Landline. Freeview/Freesat HD, Virgin Mobile, Tesco Mobile. Cable customer since 1993
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