BSB vs SKY - remember?
J.H.Cooper
Business School. There are a lot of parallels here with the current ITV
Digital vs SKY digital battle. If anyone was involved with BSB or SKY
on the business or technology side or even as a customer I'd love to
hear from you.
Thanks
James Cooper
jamesh...@nospamhotmail.com
david
"J.H.Cooper" <J.H.C...@durham.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:3B6D6C57...@durham.ac.uk...
> I am researching the BSB vs SKY format war at the University of Durham
> Business School. There are a lot of parallels here with the current ITV
> Digital vs SKY digital battle. If anyone was involved with BSB or SKY
> on the business or technology side or even as a customer I'd love to
> hear from you.
>
The big difference was they where both satellite broadcasters.
Also neither carried the usual terrestrial broadcasters.
Otherwise things are parrallel.
If history repeats it's self and Sky takes over/merges with ITVdigital both
systems would have to continue, unlike before when one closed.
--
Regards,
David
Mark Carver
"david" <da...@npark.takeout.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9kkd8a$fe2$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk...
> The big difference was they where both satellite broadcasters.
Yes
> Also neither carried the usual terrestrial broadcasters.
Correct
> Otherwise things are parrallel.
No !
BSB broadcast in analogue component video (MAC), from a much higher
powered satellite (MarcoPolo @ 31 degs W).
This facilitated the use of smaller receiving dishes, and gave
a superior picture quality to PAL.
It was *their* bird, and *they* had to pay for its construction, launch, and
build and operate the uplink site at Chilworth in Hampshire.
They were licensed by the IBA (processor of the ITC) who had
decided that the transmission format for UK DBS (direct broadcast
by satellite) was to be MAC
Sky decided to *rent* a few transponders on Astra, a Luxemburg owned
satellite, and use PAL. Although this was a lower power bird (strictly
speaking 'comms' category, not DBS) and larger receiving dishes would
be needed, receivers were simpler, and cheaper.
PAL gave an 'acceptable' picture quality so the punters voted accordingly.
Also Sky's marketing was much better than BSB's. It was just a matter of time
before BSB got into serious trouble (although the same would have been
true for Sky, but for their deeper pockets).
Ironically ISTR Granada were the major shareowners in BSB, just as they
are now in ITV-D. When Sky and BSB merged to form BskyB, Granada
had a 40% stake in the new combined company.
They helped build, the company they are now so desperately competing
against today !
J.H.Cooper
Mark - Would you mind expanding your comment about SKY's marketing being
a lot better than BSBs? I agree but it would be great to hear your
reasons for thinking this.
Also- With regards to the D-MAC system does anyone have a view on
whether BSB was too eager to accept the IBA's decision that this format
should be used? Could they have got away with simpler PAL transmission
if they had made a stand? Did BSB have an exaggerated impression of the
benefits of the system, fed by their marketing department rather than
engineers who would perhaps have warned them against this untried
format?
Bob
<J.H.C...@durham.ac.uk> writes
Sky workout the audience wanted tits and bums and sold on the content
not the technicalities - so they won.
--
Bob
Alan Smith
<bo...@bobg.demon.co.uk> writes
programming than about picture or sound quality.BSB ignored this for
many months.
--
Alan Smith
Jeffers
There was a great programme on C4 about 6 years ago called 'Satellite
Wars' (it was first shown as part of the 'Who's News?' season, then
repeated a couple of years later late at night- I had it, but then it
got wiped- i just wish i still had a copy of it) - it had 3 parts, and
part 1 focused on the development of UK Satellite TV- and had quite a
bit on the BSB v Sky battle- IIRC a high up member of BSB commented
that they asked the IBA egineers if what Sky were planning to do would
be possible- there was a quote alongs the lines of:
"They insisted that D-MAC was it, and that PAL wasn't it"
Apparently they also asked for simulated tests- which showed D MAC to
be a lot better- and they got a heck of shock when Sky launched.
I think this programme would be very useful to your research.
And a personal plee- if anyone has a recording of the series, I would
love a copy of it- be happy to pay the costs of postage etc
Jeffers
Remove 'nospamplease' from email address to reply
'I feel fine enough I guess, considering everything's a mess'- Barenaked Ladies
Jim M
The IBA (as then) were very technology driven, and wanted to push forward on
the quality front.
With this in mind, it was deemed that D-MAC was the way forward and a means
to get rid of nasty old PAL - so D-MAC was insisted upon for the
franchise...
SKY, meanwhile, could broadcast in whatever format they wanted, as
technically, they were broadcasting from communications satellites rather
than from DBS type satellites.
When SKY first started up, you needed a 2m+ diameter dish to pick up the
signal (on a good day), (prior to SES Astra). Pubs & clubs often made the
investment to pick up what was going anyway..
What really killed BSB IMO was the fact that technology caught up with and
overtook the political decisions of the spectrum allocating bodies.
Sky took advantage of the new high-power satellites that SES had launched,
coupled with the huge leaps in low-noise LNB technology to create it's own
DBS capability outwith the official DBS bandplanning.
From a consumers point of view, you had BSB offering (4?) channels of
programming and charging (rusty memory) between 400 an 500 pounds for the
box at first......
or.. you had SKY (ASTRA) offering many more channels of programming for
about 1/3 of the cost.....
Without a SKY, BSB would have done very well for itself IMO. However, it
was utterly upstaged by SKY and should never even have launched with such a
competitor in the wings.
Technically, BSB was a very nice system - I bought one when they reduced the
price down to Ł99 and enjoyed the quality up until SKY took over and
supplied BSB HQ with a transcoded PAL feed of the movie channels.
BSB itself wasn't too well run - loads of stories abound of largesse in
spending, delays in squarial technology etc
Parallels with OnDigital / ITVDigital ?? Of course... Both BSB and ITV
made great claims about their antenna technology.. (BSB that you would
"soon" be able to buy their small "squarial" technology; and ITV, that you
would be able to receive ITVDigital through your existing aerial)
If you've managed to plug an ITVDigital box into your external aerial and
get all the multiplexes, then I say all power to you!!! However, most
people will find that they need to replace their selective bandwidth antenna
with a Wideband antenna in order to pick up all the multiplexes.
Ultimately, (IMO) Subscription digital terrestrial will die a death ---
because..
Quality sucks bad (trying to squeeze a pint out of a quart pot)
Encryption is soft and hacked widely
Restriced number of channels (good, but cant compete with cable or sat)
User interface is dreadful (Sky EPG in a different league completely)
Destruction of usable data services (no teletext, and replacements direly
slow)
What we may be left with is a free-to-air replacement for analogue services,
but such a scheme would have to be government forced - free set-top boxes,
and legislation to make every new tv carry a digital tuner. (almost every
tv currently sold has no digital tuner)
Given the current state of the 3G licences, there may be no actual drive to
sell off the analogue spectrum by the Government (no market), and so the
whole DTTV thing may quietly die a death...
Another aspect of a Satellite-Only offering (if analogue is switched off and
DTTV is allowed to die) is that you would have an entire Country's
broadcasting system relying on satellites - which in times of war might be
the first things to be knocked out..... This, the Government couldn't
allow, and so DTTV definitely WONT be allowed to fail.... unless they keep
the old analogue system that is......
Anyway, getting back to the BSB v SKY thing..... no way will BSKYB be
allowed to take ITVDigital. NTL?? Maybe, but they're so debt-ridden and
reliant on Sky I doubt it.... NTL need to break free of SKY and supply
their own movie and sport channels, but that's not going to happen anytime
soon, even though they have the technical infrastructure.
More likely, Granada & Carlton will screw the Government to the wall by
insisting on a single ITV with much reduced contributions to the Government
coffers in return for a continued commitment to the running of ITV Digital.
(IMHO)
J
"J.H.Cooper" <J.H.C...@durham.ac.uk> wrote in message
news:3B6D6C57...@durham.ac.uk...
Bankieboy
> insisting on a single ITV with much reduced contributions to the Government
> coffers in return for a continued commitment to the running of ITV Digital.
They cannot insist on a single ITV. What they can request is the ability to
form a single ITV. At that point they must make either friendly or hostile
bids for those other companies which own ITV franchises like SMG.
I suspect SMG would play bolshie and then who knows what might happen.
Essentially, there is far too much in-fighting between the various ITV
companies as it is.
Martin
get one.
He didn't want Sky.
He might go Ondigital - he's got the TV, just need to sort the aerial
Paul Burgin
>I think this programme would be very useful to your research.
>And a personal plee- if anyone has a recording of the series, I would
>love a copy of it- be happy to pay the costs of postage etc
Sadly no, but I agree it was a good programme. I've still got at least one
of the original BSB "five channel TV" ads on tape somewhere. These days we
expect that many new channels without blinking an eyelid!
Can anyone remember when and at what price BSkyB floated on the stock market?
I recall being sent the invitations and prospectus but didn't invest or keep
it; could make interesting retrospective reading now though, I think.
Paul
Al Crawford
> I am researching the BSB vs SKY format war at the University of Durham
> Business School. There are a lot of parallels here with the current ITV
> Digital vs SKY digital battle. If anyone was involved with BSB or SKY
> on the business or technology side or even as a customer I'd love to
> hear from you.
I've got a fascinating book about the rise and fall of BSB, which it
would pay you to read. If you haven't already!
It's called Dished! by Peter Chippindale & Suzanne Franks, published in
1991 by Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-71123-7. I've no idea whether or
not it's still available though.
Al.
--
Al Crawford
Lincolnshire, UK
J.H.Cooper
read - real shame it's now out of print...
James Cooper
J.H.Cooper
"The D-MAC format was technically superior and worked.
Sky workout the audience wanted tits and bums and sold on the content
not the technicalities - so they won."
Okay D-MAC worked eventually but BSB was forced to put back its launch
date by 8 odd months due to problems with the receiver chip technology.
Not sure SKY sold itself on content either - BSB had much better
programming but SKY used brutal "foot in the door" direct sales tactics
to get a good head start.