The big deal?
Anyone's whose ever felt the pulse of the recent ISP v iPlayer will be aware of the BBC who were inching ever closer for a major battle with ISPs over bandwidth conjestion. That was yesterday (figure of speech)...today a deals been worked with Virgin (an ISP provider).
Generally speaking, we are now witnessing a massive shift in viewing habits - not just the new generation but quite literally everyone - resulting in a sharp decline in television audience and a substantial increase in online 'viewing'.
So I'm sure you are catching my drift here - Virgin needs a boost in its television viewing audience - BBC can make that happen, and in return want Virgin on their side as far as the ISP problem is concerned.
Where does Sky fit in all this? Anyone's guess is that Sky is fuelled by ads - BBC does not do ads - so sour deal - the Murdoch kid gets all whiny and lashes out in frustration. However, it is only a matter of time before the BBC approves the incorporation of ads (which they are lobbying for in Parliament) - and Sky will get in bed with them and make out.
But for now Sky has lost a major ally in their ISP war against the iPlayer.
Whats abt BT? BT is losing out anyway. With a lot of cheaper providers - their telephony market is in decline. Thanks to some brilliant mind keen to impress top management responsible for all their "Customer Services" outsourcing to India and god-knows-where-else, they can kiss their shares in the broadband market goodbye. And besides according to independent surveys, a majority of BT customers are generally unhappy anyway with the services they recieve with respect to the cost of such services.
In other words - BT's luck has run out. I smell Chinese investors sniffing around.
So Virgin's in bed with BBC. And if the BBC isn't happy, Virgin gets her revenge by siding with Sky.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
