Ssb - seeing red

[MySockPuppet]

For the last few years the BBC has been showing live coverage of both tables from their snooker events on the red button for viewers in the UK.

Most viewers access this through the Freeview set top box on channels 301 and 302.

They won't be able to any more as channel 302 is being axed next week because it will be used for a HD channel initially only available in London and Manchester.

On the face of it, this means that only one table will be available to view from December's UK Championship, and even that is not guaranteed as there will be other things having to go on channel 301 as well.

The BBC today issued a rather vague statement, which said: "we are doing everything we can in conjunction with our colleagues in Sport to schedule events to ensure that we try and accommodate all the major sporting events on Freeview."

That is some way short of a promise, or even a plan.

The picture should become clearer when the UK Championship begins.

However, the fear is that the next time the presenter tells you to press the red button when a match is poised at a vital stage because the BBC need to get off for some quiz show, you may be disappointed.

Thankfully, they will still show both tables on their website and Sky customers will not be affected by the changes.



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[wildJONESEYE]

yes its a pathetic statement from the bbc

im a sky customer and it doesent affect me however i think its wrong that sky supply a full service for bbc viewers when in reality everyone that pays their license fee should get the same treatment because its our money that funds it.

its wrong that Freeview cant carry out that obligation to bbc viewers.

[spike]

It's mentioned that Sky customers wont be affected, will that also apply to Virgin Media customers too?

I'm a Virgin Media customer hence the reason i ask..

[wildJONESEYE]

It's mentioned that Sky customers wont be affected, will that also apply to Virgin Media customers too?

I'm a Virgin Media customer hence the reason i ask..

i think it is only freeview that this affects so virgin media is ok

[ferret]

If you have a SKY dish and box but do not subscribe to SKY you can get a £10 freeview card to go into your SKY box and you get all the benefits of SKY but in freeview.

If you have the dish and not the box, you can get second hand boxes on eBay from £20.

[superaussie]

poor decision by the bbc but going by their track record not a real shock

[wildJONESEYE]

If you have a SKY dish and box but do not subscribe to SKY you can get a £10 freeview card to go into your SKY box and you get all the benefits of SKY but in freeview.

If you have the dish and not the box, you can get second hand boxes on eBay from £20.

so in effect sky does more for the BBC than freeview does

[superaussie]

anyway i cant be bothered with the bbc and their poor decisions so its time i got sky and then i can enjoy the snooker

[checkSide]

anyway i cant be bothered with the bbc and their poor decisions so its time i got sky and then i can enjoy the snooker

It will be the best move you make....

and don't skimp on the HD.

[wildJONESEYE]

anyway i cant be bothered with the bbc and their poor decisions so its time i got sky and then i can enjoy the snooker

yes mate get sky then you wont ask me which match will be on table 1 hahaha

[Templeton Peck]

Virgin and Freesat will be unaffected, it is entirely due to Freeview frequency space.

[Robert602]

yes its a pathetic statement from the bbc

im a sky customer and it doesent affect me however i think its wrong that sky supply a full service for bbc viewers when in reality everyone that pays their license fee should get the same treatment because its our money that funds it.

its wrong that Freeview cant carry out that obligation to bbc viewers.

By that logic the BBC shouldn't spend a penny on red button coverage (or BBC3, 4, HD, News etc) because a fair proportion of its paying viewers are still using analogue TVs.

Freeview isn't capable of showing every channel produced, so the BBC pick and choose what to provide. It's undesirable, and you might criticise their choices, but it's not 'wrong' in any moral sense.

It would be more controversial if you had to pay a subscription to Sky or Virgin to receive some BBC content - but as ferret says, freesat carries everything the BBC produce.

[wildJONESEYE]

By that logic the BBC shouldn't spend a penny on red button coverage (or BBC3, 4, HD, News etc) because a fair proportion of its paying viewers are still using analogue TVs.

Freeview isn't capable of showing every channel produced, so the BBC pick and choose what to provide. It's undesirable, and you might criticise their choices, but it's not 'wrong' in any moral sense.

It would be more controversial if you had to pay a subscription to Sky or Virgin to receive some BBC content - but as ferret says, freesat carries everything the BBC produce.

when the time comes and analogue is completely turned off freeview viewers are losing out so producing freeview boxes is pointless and therefore i urge everyone to ditch freeview if they are sport fans now.

[Templeton Peck]

You can argue though that they should only provide services that are freely accessible through available equipment that does not require a subscription service - otherwise you are paying twice to watch content. If they cannot provide it through Freeview then arguably they should stop providing it through paid subscription services. That's not sour grapes either because I'm with Virgin, but if I only had Freeview I would be furious if I were subsidising sports coverage for Sky and Virgin viewers. And don't even get me started on their Web services - it is insane that people who pay to be able to legally watch TV end up subsidising internet enterprise!

[wildJONESEYE]

You can argue though that they should only provide services that are freely accessible through available equipment that does not require a subscription service - otherwise you are paying twice to watch content. If they cannot provide it through Freeview then arguably they should stop providing it through paid subscription services. That's not sour grapes either because I'm with Virgin, but if I only had Freeview I would be furious if I were subsidising sports coverage for Sky and Virgin viewers. And don't even get me started on their Web services - it is insane that people who pay to be able to legally watch TV end up subsidising internet enterprise!

im a sky viewer and i agree with you on principle.