Does this spell the end of Optus Vision?

[Sydneyfan]

Foxtel winning the rights to broadcast AFL from the year 2002 raises a few interesting questions concerning Pay TV. Over the last few years Foxtel has gradually won the rights to most of the major sporting competitons watched in Australia (Rugby Union, English Premier League Soccer, Rugby League), and from 2002 AFL. By 2002 Foxtel will have the lionshare of Pay TV sport, and with sport being one of the main, if not the main, factor for people subscribing to Pay TV, it will be interesting to see if Optus Vision will survive much after the 2002 AFL season starts.
Maybe soon, there will be just Foxtel. Hopefully, for the public there will be some sort of merger between Foxtel and Optus Vision so people can get high quality Pay TV for a reasonable price.

 

[CJH]

My folks have Optus. I have Foxtel. This means I have been able to compare their programming. Sport aside, the quality of programming on Foxtel is significantly better than that of Optus.

Without any major sports popular with Australian audiences and inferior general programming it doesn't look good for them.

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This is a hallucination and these faces are in a dream. A computer generated environment; a fantasy island you can do anything and not have to face the consequences.

[This message has been edited by CJH (edited 20 December 2000).]

 

[sainter]

I'm not sure if this decision will spell the end of Optus Vision.

It will, however, spell the end of Optus Vision in this household at the end of next year. Time to move across to the arch enemy in Foxtel.

I think you are pretty spot on with your assessments of the two pay-TV providers CJH. In my opinion, the range of channels on Foxtel is far superior to Optus Vision. However for someone like myself, Optus is (well not after next year) just fine. Great footy coverage including a live Melbourne game every weekend, the movie channels which after comparing with my friends Foxtel offers better quality movies and MTV which I find a lot better than Channel V.

But footy was the main reason we subscribed and if the television rights are moving providers, so are we.

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Fortius Quo Fidelius

 

[Groucho]

Yes I'll be dumping them like a hot potato at the end of 2001 after 4 years of reasonably happy viewing. They'll struggle to remain viable as,if they didn't know already how important AFL is to them,then they will about October 2001!

 

[elt]

I thought Foxtel was going to provide Optus with footage in the same way C7 does now. I don't have either but from what I have seen I think if I was to get one it would be Foxtel.

 

[Bloodstained Angel]

I don't have Pay-Tv at the moment and I would only get Pay-Tv to watch footy, so my decision has already been made.

Suits me just fine really, Foxtel is much more readily available where I live and I have also heard the programming is better than Optus. Foxtel is also a little bit cheaper as well.

I have to follow the fortunes of C&W Optus everyday as part of my work so I can tell you now that this company is much more interested in developing its telephony business than Pay-TV, so there is every chance that once C& loses the footy and dies in the arse, Optus Vision as a whole will be wound up shortly after.

Probably as soon as September 2001.

cheers

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

im with u sainter i have optus vision for the sole purpose of seeing every game when i wish to however after next season i.ll move across to fowtel even tho it will cost me more a/c in my area i only have optus cable so there for i have to get a dish.
i just hope foxtel serve up the same quality as a program like footy feeback which is one of the best going around at the minute
as for optus disapearing well losing both nrl and afl would put them under pressure.
however poeple dont count ya chooks yet as i understand it ch7 may take the afl to court over the pay tv issue regarding the 20 mil last refusal bid weather or not pay tv was included in the 20mil deal
cheers!