Sky Sports News, Goodbye Freeview, Hello HD

Freeview losing Sky Sports News channel

Sky has announced that Sky Sports News will leave the Freeview platform later in the year and become an exclusively pay-TV channel.

Under the changes, Sky Sports News will become Sky3+1 on Freeview and offer an hour timeshift of the already available Sky3 channel.

From that point, Sky Sports News will only be available on Sky, Virgin Media and TalkTalk TV, along with Sky's online and mobile platforms.

Sky said that changing Sky Sports News to an exclusively pay-TV channel is about "allowing it to benefit from continued growth in subscription revenues".

Later in the year, the satellite broadcaster also plans to launch Sky Sports News HD, which will become the fifth HD channel in the Sky Sports bouquet. More details about the channel will be announced in "the weeks ahead".

Alongside the channel developments, Sky also plans to build on the "existing success" of Sky Sports News with increased editorial investment.

The extra financial support will help "bring customers even richer and broader coverage of sports news, as well as faster reaction to breaking stories wherever they happen".

Sky Sports managing director Barney Francis said: "Sky Sports News has been a great success over the last 12 years and we have big ambitions to make it even better.

"As part of a subscription service, customers can look forward to expanded coverage and the launch of Europe's first HD sports news service."

Last month, it emerged that Sky News had initiated plans to streamline its sports reporting team to foster greater collaboration with the Sky Sports News operation.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a228789/freeview-losing-sky-sports-news-channel.html

Sky Sports News pulled from Freeview

BSkyB has announced that Sky Sports News is to become a pay-TV channel, after eight years of being available on Freeview.

Sky said the move would allow the channel to benefit from "continued growth in subscription revenues".

The move would take place "later this year", Sky added. From then the channel will only be available via Sky, Virgin Media or Talk Talk TV.

The 24-hour sports news channel will be replaced on Freeview by Sky 3+1.

"Sky Sports News has been a great success over the last 12 years and we have big ambitions to make it even better," said Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports.
"As part of a subscription service, customers can look forward to expanded coverage and the launch of Europe's first HD sports news service."

Media analyst Tim Luckhurst, professor of journalism at the University of Kent, said Sky's move was "probably quite sensible".

"It is important to see the context - there is a broad, emerging consensus that in the multi-media era it is insane to give content away for nothing," he added.

"Sky is therefore not the only company to reach the conclusion that there is only a finite length of time that you can use something such as Sky Sports News as a loss leader."
Regulatory dispute

In March this year, media regulator Ofcom ruled that Sky must reduce the wholesale price it charges rivals to carry its pay-per-view sports channels Sky Sports 1 and 2.

Sky and Ofcom subsequently agreed an interim deal at the end of April that means Virgin Media, BT and Top-up TV are able to offer the two channels at a reduced price - but with the difference in cost put into an escrow account pending an appeal by Sky against Ofcom's ruling.

If Sky wins its appeal, the escrow money will be awarded to the satellite broadcaster. If it loses, the rivals will get it.

Sky's appeal to the Competition Appeals Tribunal could take more than a year to be resolved.

It was also announced this week that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation wishes to buy full control of BSkyB. News Corporation currently owns a 30.1% stake in BSkyB.

News Corporation has been moving away from free content in its newspaper operations.

Readers of the online editions of its Times and Sunday Times newspapers will have to pay to view the websites from the end of this month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10346894

Well F**k sh*t w*nk Bollocks! That is all I can say to this.

Did any of you know this? I did not! Saw a "Promo" this morning going on about how they were going HD! FFS, HD graphics, what's the point!

Going to be 26th of August and replace with Sky3 +1, Sky3, WTF its sh*t. never watch it and not going to watch it an hour later...

Good bye Millie I'll miss you.  

I don't know how many of you use freeview on your TVs but from August 23rd SSN will no longer be aired. The cheek of Sky taking it off Freeview, that's the only channel I use my TV for, that and Dave. Just thought I'd let those of you that hadn't heard know, and those that have, what is your opinion?

F***ing wankers.

They seemed pretty happy about it on the advert.

Dickheads!

I have Sky so I'm Ok, unlucky boys & Girls   

So it follows they gonna charge for it now -  the cheeky,cheeky bas**rds.
FREEVIEW is getting less free and shittier all the time.

They seemed pretty happy about it on the advert.

Dickheads!

Yes that's what pisses me off. Not sorry but....., BUT Breaking news, we're F***ing off.

If you have not got Sky SSN is not a deal breaker is it.

I feel they will loose revenue as their total audience will plummet.

Yes that's what pisses me off. Not sorry but....., BUT Breaking news, we're f**king off.

If you have not got Sky SSN is not a deal breaker is it.

I feel they will loose revenue as their total audience will plummet.

To be honest, the main reason I watch SSN is for Soccer Saturday, which is aired live online from SkySports.com anyway.

I will just get all my news off the website now, unless Sky are planning on taking over the world and taking Internet away.

Same as RB, i'll just use the website.

Oh well, they talk sh*t most the time and have tw*ts like Merson and Le Pissier on it, no great loss. Only going to miss the like of Georgie Thompson

I have sky and I still dont have this as its part of the sports package.
Hateful fooks. You get enough money. No way am I paying for ssn

The service Sky provide is so inferior to it's competitors that they try to overcome it by offering multi channels of pure sh*te and the charges for the acceptable material is outrageous.

I have sky and I still dont have this as its part of the sports package.
Hateful fooks. You get enough money. No way am I paying for ssn

I Think its actually part of the News package!

Sky are just money grabbing ba*tards, won't get a penny off me

Would quite happily wave SSN off the f**king Manc supporting pricks. Besides, what sort of sports channel is it when hound racing get's preference over the likes of F1 and Wimbledon which believe me, neither exist in the mad mad world of Sky Sports! Cheap cack that's what SSN is!

Would quite happily wave SSN off the f**king Manc supporting pricks. Besides, what sort of sports channel is it when hound racing get's preference over the likes of F1 and Wimbledon which believe me, neither exist in the mad mad world of Sky Sports! Cheap cack that's what SSN is!

The problem with SKY Sports, and to a lesser extent all the other news channels, if they don't have film footage, then it did not happen. SSN is only a vehicle to advertise their own channels.

They want to push people into the rip off world of sport subscription TV.

They want to push people into the rip off world of sport subscription TV.

Not gonna happen with the INTERNET

Not gonna happen with the INTERNET

Goood stuff!

Another money grabbing scheme by Sky, shocking! They'll eventually lose money through this and leave a huge gap in the market. To be fair Setanta Sports News was decent enough, and for a few months i prefered it to SSN. If someone like the BBC launches a sports news channel they could be on to a winner! Surely the gap in the market is too big for everyone to ignore, SSN showed how successful it can be!

BBC won't do it as they can not have advertisments to pay for it. I do not feel the licence fee should go on this.

ITV could do it, but it would be dreadful.

Well When I get up in the morning ch83 will be white noise.

Bid-Up or QVC it is!

Loving the way they are trying to sell it to us with all the new stuff happening on it. The only way i would pay for it is if the female presenters presented naked and had a mud fight.