Replies from BBC regarding Sky Digital

LegacyUser

Here's what I wrote to BBC Reception Advice on the back of BBC 1 NI appearing on Sky Digital

"I notice that the carriage agreement was between BBC Worldwide and BSkyB, and this question may not be directly pointed towards you at BBC Reception Advice, but will the other BBC Channels appear soon? I refer to News 24, BBC Choice and BBC Knowledge. (I know the latter will disappear later in the year to become BBC 3 and 4 respectfully)
Also, if BBC News 24 is not to appear on Irish screens, (maybe it is down to the fact that News 24 is mainly for a UK audience) is it possible that BBC World could be transmitted in its place? I know that BBC World is not transmitted on the Astra 2 satelite, but are there any plans to do so?"

It prompted this response from BBC Reception....

"There is no current plan to introduce other channels at the moment. Much will depend upon the level of rights which the BSkyB user group wish to fund."

Message was forwarded onto BBC World, who gave this answer....

"The channel (BBC World) is available via the Eutelsat Hotbird 5 satellite at 13 degrees east. The frequency is 11114 Mhz. I regret that there are no plans to change this."

In conclusion..... Bugger.

LegacyUser

Not surprised obout World - if it appeared on Astra, the number of Irish people complaining about News 24's unavailability would be dwarfed by the British complaining about BBC World's unavailability in the UK. As I presume it could not be shown to a UK audience as it is (with advertising).

Now I know that the advertising which goes out at the moment is minimal (on the European sat feed anyway), but some programmes are sponsored and this could not be seen in the Uk. I wonder if the BBC can carry adverts in ROI. Maybe'll we'll see MHEG-like banners popping up on BBC NI....

LegacyUser

The posts here are correct. The deal is between BBC Worldwide and Sky (with Sky apparently paying the majority cost - it won't be passed on to Irish subscribers) for BBC ONE and BBC TWO only.

Some threads over on uk.media.tv.sky also speak about additional BBC digital services not being involved, sadly. I looks like UK FTV cards will be the only way to get Choice, Knowledge and News 24 for some time to come.

LegacyUser

I always found the Quicktime feed low-quality. An excellent quality MediaPlayer version is now available at <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://windowsmedia.com/preview/asx/BBCworld350k.asx&quot; OLDREF="">windowsmedia.com/preview/...ld350k.asx</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->
- there is a lower-quality one at

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://windowsmedia.com/preview/asx/BBCworld100k.asx&quot; OLDREF="">windowsmedia.com/preview/...ld100k.asx</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

LegacyUser

I like the BBC World feed, but I prefer the 15 mins live at the top of the hour, that BBC News 24 provides.

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/n24.ram&quot; OLDREF="">news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/n24.ram</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

Its a wee bit of a tease <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START --><img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif" ALT=":(" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> or <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START --><img src="../www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif" ALT=":)" OLDREF="http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> which ever way you look at it