Astra 2E: Transit to 28.2E

[Pietclock]

My guess (and it's only that) is that SKY will not run the risk of losing paying subscribers irrespective of where they are based so if they move to 2E or 2F they will move to PE beams. If that is the case then you should not worry about losing your tv.

Well, have a look at those "PE" beams.... they are not really PE beams ;) except 2G.

 

[Pride Of Cucamonga]

Well, have a look at those "PE" beams.... they are not really PE beams ;) except 2G.

But they nicely cover Iberia, where majority of expats live.

 

[Lazarus]

@Acuario

That's all well and good except for the unavoidable issue of Programme Rights, the cost of which is predicated on the potential "in-area" audience plus actuarially assessed overspill.

The overspill can be reduced with state of the art Satellites, so that in itself adds fuel to the Rights negotiations.

Also, one must consider the opinions and influence that other players, including regulators, have: And the expectation will be for pressure to reduce out-of-area reception both by applying the technological state-of-the-art and by keeping an eye on how BSkyB police their own Terms & Conditions (Which are themselves predicated upon many factors and influences, and are well known).

BSkyB can turn a relatively blind eye only while they can get away with it - No doubt there is a tacit balance.

 

[Acuario]

@Acuario

That's all well and good except for the unavoidable issue of Programme Rights, the cost of which is predicated on the potential "in-area" audience plus actuarially assessed overspill.

The overspill can be reduced with state of the art Satellites, so that in itself adds fuel to the Rights negotiations.

Also, one must consider the opinions and influence that other players, including regulators, have: And the expectation will be for pressure to reduce out-of-area reception both by applying the technological state-of-the-art and by keeping an eye on how BSkyB police their own Terms & Conditions (Which are themselves predicated upon many factors and influences, and are well known).

BSkyB can turn a relatively blind eye only while they can get away with it - No doubt there is a tacit balance.

Absolutely, there is obviously no guarantee that BSB will continue to opérate on anything that can be received outside of the UK but I'm sure they will continue to do so for as long as posible to avoid several millions of pounds being wiped off of their accounts by customers unsubscribing.

 

[trevortronix]

Absolutely, there is obviously no guarantee that BSB will continue to opérate on anything that can be received outside of the UK but I'm sure they will continue to do so for as long as posible to avoid several millions of pounds being wiped off of their accounts by customers unsubscribing.

This all sounds logical, but in the great scheme of things, I'm sure the expat 'grey' subscriptions probably account for a minute percentage of Sky's overall turnover. As such they may not be that interested in preserving PE coverage, it'll more likely depend on the birds' capacities. Whichever way it goes, there's no a lot we can do about it other that wait & see.

 

[timo_w2s]

Well, have a look at those "PE" beams.... they are not really PE beams ;) except 2G.

You'll notice the SES website no longer calls them "Pan European" and now just "Europe", not sure when this was changed though. I still have old PDFs that refer to Pan European beams but the newer ones now just mention Europe and UK footprints.

 

[timo_w2s]

I believe 2E can't do the remaining Eutelsat 28A frequencies, so I suspect it will be only once 2G is in operation that we see 28A leave. If they transfer any earlier then 2F will have no backup as not even 1N can cover that band.

It's going to be a big frequency and channel shift again, similar to the one last October when it does happen, since SES and Eutelsat operate their satellites in a different configuration so it won't be a straightforward swap.

 

[sonnetpete]

In relation to Sky subscriptions it's perhaps misleading to look at population figures of expats per se. The Guardian produced some figures in 2012 and the total ex pat population of France, Germany and Spain was put at 1,158,000. But this is population. You then have to divide this into number of households, then those households who would have a subscription. Going off what I've seen on expat forums an awful lot of households are using Freesat or an FTA box. It wouldn't surprise me if Sky has only some 300,000 subs in Europe.

 

[hairybadger]

In relation to Sky subscriptions it's perhaps misleading to look at population figures of expats per se. The Guardian produced some figures in 2012 and the total ex pat population of France, Germany and Spain was put at 1,158,000. But this is population. You then have to divide this into number of households, then those households who would have a subscription. Going off what I've seen on expat forums an awful lot of households are using Freesat or an FTA box. It wouldn't surprise me if Sky has only some 300,000 subs in Europe.

Could you not add non-British English-speaking expats to those figures? OK - probably nowhere near as numerous as Brits but might add a few 10000s subs here and there...

 

[sonnetpete]

Possibly HB but how many of them will want to go through the bother of setting up a sub, considering they would have to do it through a UK address? The few French (English speaking) aquaintances I have here seem quite happy to watch TV in their mother tongue. If they want a 'fix' of English they can swap soundtracks on a DVD or use a multi language option on TF1 or the like. It's only my opinion but I really can't see Murdoch et al worrying that reducing the Astra footprint is going to lose him substantial income.

 

[hairybadger]

Possibly HB but how many of them will want to go through the bother of setting up a sub, considering they would have to do it through a UK address? The few French (English speaking) aquaintances I have here seem quite happy to watch TV in their mother tongue. If they want a 'fix' of English they can swap soundtracks on a DVD or use a multi language option on TF1 or the like. It's only my opinion but I really can't see Murdoch et al worrying that reducing the Astra footprint is going to lose him substantial income.

I was thinking more of Irish, Americans etc , and the UK address requirement can always be worked around with a grey reseller, can't it? But yes - I take your point. Their numbers will be very limited.

 

[timo_w2s]

I knew of a few South Africans that enjoyed the Sky package (especially Sky Sports) in Switzerland using grey resellers about 10 years ago.

 

[terryashbyash]

Before this thread closes I would like to thank everyone for all the updates on the position of 2E.

As for loss of freesat channels/sky its a pity they don´t sell their services legally for the use of expats and make some money, no wonder we have recessions. Most people I know would pay to have freesat or sky legally so sort out europe and give us the telly!!

 

[FRINGE]

At the end of the day, any loss of UK TV via satellite can always (nearly) be dealt with by turning to the internet.

 

[hairybadger]

At the end of the day, any loss of UK TV via satellite can always (nearly) be dealt with by turning to the internet.

Not in my case - rural France and crappy internet connection. However - satellite appears to be OK for me for the time being.

 

[sonnetpete]

I was thinking more of Irish, Americans etc , and the UK address requirement can always be worked around with a grey reseller, can't it? But yes - I take your point. Their numbers will be very limited.

There are quite a few resellers in both Normandy and Brittany...they aren't exactly grey either, quite blatant in fact but I think are on the decline due to the number of Brits going back home and the financial situation which is leaning consumers towards the Freesat solution.....and yes HB, as you replied to Fringe, not all of us are blessed with broadband quick enough to support streaming.....

@terryashbyash : It's the broadcasting rights that precludes Sky selling services abroad. Imagine perhaps that it was possible to do so and you legally obtained Premiership soccer in Europe through Sky. If you were another Premiership broadcasting rights holder would you not then want to legally sell your subs to the UK?...and probably undercut Sky while doing so...sorry, this is going totally OT.

 

[Lazarus]

Before this thread closes I would like to thank everyone for all the updates on the position of 2E.

As for loss of freesat channels/sky its a pity they don´t sell their services legally for the use of expats and make some money, no wonder we have recessions. Most people I know would pay to have freesat or sky legally so sort out europe and give us the telly!!

I've already opened the "Operational" and Signal Reports by Area Topics, so will close this one after the Bird lights up, on trust that Honourable Contributors use their common-sense as to what to Post, where and when ;) (Don't want to make up one morning soon and have to spend forever moving Posts!).

 

[Pietclock]

and there are always those, who are not primarely after the content, but simply like to hunt satellites signals ;)

You'll notice the SES website no longer calls them "Pan European" and now just "Europe", not sure when this was changed though. I still have old PDFs that refer to Pan European beams but the newer ones now just mention Europe and UK footprints.

ahh interesting. Probably some intern with some geographical skills gave them a hint

I still do not understand the concept behind those footprints... why that hotspot over parts of Poland? Why cover most of Spain, but require 120cm along the southern coast? Why covering large parts of the Atlantic but leave out Scandinavia and Greece?
Dont get it .... it looks so random. Like: the TWTAs do not have enough power to cover all of Europe so we cover the UK and some stuff around it...

 

[Schroeder]

There are quite a few resellers in both Normandy and Brittany...they aren't exactly grey either, quite blatant in fact but I think are on the decline due to the number of Brits going back home and the financial situation which is leaning consumers towards the Freesat solution.....and yes HB, as you replied to Fringe, not all of us are blessed with broadband quick enough to support streaming.....

@terryashbyash : It's the broadcasting rights that precludes Sky selling services abroad. Imagine perhaps that it was possible to do so and you legally obtained Premiership soccer in Europe through Sky. If you were another Premiership broadcasting rights holder would you not then want to legally sell your subs to the UK?...and probably undercut Sky while doing so...sorry, this is going totally OT.

Did the EU not recently say that future TV rights should be negotiated EU wide rather than by individual EU country, but quite how that would work given that TV companies tend to transmit mainly to their own countries with some overspill. Plus the costs for the rights would probably prohibit a single TV company from affording them.

 

[FRINGE]

Not in my case - rural France and crappy internet connection. However - satellite appears to be OK for me for the time being.

Same here. No land line where I am and therefore have to rely on WIMAX. That's what I meant by "(nearly)".

Time will tell if we will get reasonable satellite reception from 2f + 2e. So far so good - so fingers crossed. One thing for sure, we will soon know.