• Subscribe to our Daily News Emails
  • Advertise
    • Media Info
    • Terms & Conditions for Advertisers
    • Mechanical Data

Broadband TV News

Independent. Since 2003

  • Home
  • News Line
    • Central & East Europe
    • People
  • TV
    • On Demand/VOD
    • IPTV
    • Cable
    • Satellite
    • Terrestrial
    • Distribution
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Events
    • Events Diary
    • BTN Events
    • Events Coverage
    • Submit the details of your event
  • Features
  • Resources
    • White Papers

Murdoch: Sky Anywhere is defensive play against cord cutting

November 18, 2010 11.40 Europe/London By Julian Clover

BSkyB chairman James Murdoch has said the Sky Anywhere strategy will help defend the satellite platform against the threat of cord cutting.

Speaking at the Morgan Stanley media conference in Barcelona, Murdoch said it was important to keep in perspective the difference globally between the different kinds of pay-TV businesses.

“Some of the impact of cord cutting, we’ve looked at some [US] numbers that suggest it’s amplified by the digital switchover effect from a year ago when you saw a lot of aggressive offers in the marketplace and a lot of accelerated customer take-up with 12-month deals, and so on, and as those things rolled out it made the comparisons difficult year on year”.

Murdoch told delegates there was no question that the competitive set was shifting with the emergence of Google TV and Apple TV into the marketplace. They were, he said, no longer a theory about the future. “The difference between what’s happening and the Sky businesses is that they’ve taken a more progressive sense with the customers for sometime. When you look at Sky in the UK, the company has been offering TV Anywhere, the ability to take content with you for many years. So whether it’s consuming Sky Movies on your X-box or on your lap-top this is something we’ve been investing in for a long time”.

He said it was also important that the pricing model for pay-TV in Europe was different to the US with more flexible packages and cheaper points of entry.

Speaking about Sky Deutschland, Murdoch said that despite the differences, there were also similarities with other digital markets. “It was only eight years ago in Italy when people were saying Stream and Telepiu never worked and Sky Italia can never work, and seven years later they say it’s the driver of growth, these things are never totally easy and it’s not a question of one contract or one set of rights or one marketing campaign”.

Murdoch issued a warning to UK and European authorities that governments needed to make choices and assess the benefits of having a digital TV player in the UK market and all the benefits it brings with the potential loss of an £8 billion business.

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Related

Filed Under: Editor's Choice, Newsline, Satellite Tagged With: BSkyB, Cordcutters, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia Edited: 19 November 2010 14:33

Avatar photo

About Julian Clover

Julian Clover is a Media and Technology journalist based in Cambridge, UK. He works in online and printed media. Julian is also a voice on local radio. You can talk to Julian on X @julianclover, or by email at jclover@broadbandtvnews.com.

Latest News

  • Warner Bros. Discovery secures exclusive European for legends team cup
  • Here is the news … read by an influencer
  • Altice France files for bankruptcy protection
  • United Group announces leadership changes 
  • Sky Italia renews Wimbledon tennis rights

Most Popular

  • Altice France files for bankruptcy protection
    Altice France files for bankruptcy protection
  • Viaplay Group launches dedicated sports channel
    Viaplay Group launches dedicated sports channel
  • Prime Video to screen Premier League in the Netherlands
    Prime Video to screen Premier League in the Netherlands
  • Eutelsat planning capital increase to become European Starlink
    Eutelsat planning capital increase to become European Starlink
  • Ampere: Netflix to gain 8.2m new subs after Canal+ deal
    Ampere: Netflix to gain 8.2m new subs after Canal+ deal
  • United Group announces leadership changes 
    United Group announces leadership changes 
  • Warner Bros. Discovery secures exclusive European for legends team cup
    Warner Bros. Discovery secures exclusive European for legends team cup

White Paper

White Paper: Why Wi-Fi 7 is critical for ISPs in the gigabit+ era

Today, consumers are increasingly using bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive workloads, such as 4K and 8K streaming, online gaming, and AR/VR applications. As a result, Internet Service Providers must update their networks and by extension Wi-Fi experiences and performance. … [Download the White Paper ...]

Broadband TV News

  • Subscribe
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Logos & Pictures
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Advertising

  • Media Info
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Mechanical Data
  • Video Services

News

  • Latest
  • Central & East Europe
  • TV
  • Tech
  • Streaming
  • Cable
  • Satellite
  • Terrestrial
  • IPTV
  • Business
  • People

Events

  • Events Diary
  • BTN Events
  • Submit the details of your event
  • Media Meet & Greet

Editorial

PO Box 499
Cambridge
United Kingdom
CB1 0AH
news@broadbandtvnews.com

Commercial

Arundel View Cottage
Wepham
West Sussex
BN18 9RA
sales@broadbandtvnews.com

Connect with Us

 

Copyright © 2025 Broadband TV News LLP · Log in

 

Loading Comments...
 

    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OK