CITV is to close - Printable Version

+- Pres Café (https://pres.cafe)
+-- Forum: Pres Café TV and Radio Forums (https://pres.cafe/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Channel Presentation (https://pres.cafe/forumdisplay.php?fid=2)
+--- Thread: CITV is to close (/showthread.php?tid=384)

---

RE: CITV is to close - newsjunkie - 03-09-2023

Having worked with ITV in many different ways, the decision to keep the 'old' CITV branding will all have been about cost.

They will have decided the cost of rebranding the channel/service would have been way more than the benefit. The decision was probably taken well before they decided to close the CITV channel.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is something more to the closure of the CITV channel. Whether that be to sell/hand back the freeview/satellite space? I also wouldn't be surprised if this is a slow process to scale back linear tv services. Traditional tv viewing is falling fast now and the costs will soon exceed the income directly from more of their channels. 

ITVX is the future.

---

RE: CITV is to close - eyeTV - 03-09-2023

Yes and consolidation is going to be key clearly for linear going forward. News, sport and events being the main drivers for content.

I would think that in the future any service with a schedule that relies on archive is at risk as its content that is readily available for streaming.

For ITV they could probably consolidate to 3 linear services within the next few years.

---

RE: CITV is to close - interestednovice - 03-09-2023

I would expect the +1 services to be first to go, then possibly ITVBe being folded back into ITV 2.

Eventually ITV 3 & 4 would be under threat as they do rely on archive content, but I’m sure ITV will still want at least one overspill channel for a while and they are still quite cheap to run for the moment. Perhaps it’s key that they attract an older demographic less likely to use on demand services, so viewership remains relatively high.

---

RE: CITV is to close - cable - 03-09-2023

It was the only main channel on left on DTT MuxA/Com4, leaving ITV +1s. If they are intending to sell off their own capacity or drop the multiplex considering DTT slots no longer demand big money this could be the early stages of that.

ITVX early success may have shown the cost of keeping +1 channels may be oughweighing the benefits. They can drop/reuse the transponders these take on satellite and monetise the slots on Mux A.

---

RE: CITV is to close - Brekkie - 03-09-2023

Worth noting all their linear channels other than ITV Be and CITV outrate ITVX, though +1 channels is a different argument.

Imagine ITV3 and ITV4 especially cost significantly less too - and remember providing ITVX isn't free to ITV either - there are still transmission costs and even a few thousand watching on a +1 maybe a cheaper way to reach that audience than if they streamed that content instead.

---

RE: CITV is to close - CCFG - 03-09-2023

(03-09-2023, 03:21 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  Worth noting all their linear channels other than ITV Be and CITV outrate ITVX, though +1 channels is a different argument.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the 0.95% share of ITVX is just the share of people using it on actual televisions. Not including computers or phones and the sort.

---

RE: CITV is to close - WillPS - 03-09-2023

(03-09-2023, 03:21 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  Worth noting all their linear channels other than ITV Be and CITV outrate ITVX, though +1 channels is a different argument.

Imagine ITV3 and ITV4 especially cost significantly less too - and remember providing ITVX isn't free to ITV either - there are still transmission costs and even a few thousand watching on a +1 maybe a cheaper way to reach that audience than if they streamed that content instead.

What "transmission costs" does ITVX have? I don't think they even have one of those placeholder broadcast channels (ala Pop Player) do they?

You probably mean bandwidth costs, which isn't at all the same thing and (unlike transmission costs) can be scaled according to demand (=revenue). ITV X also has an ability to capture revenue directly from the user, which of course broadcast does not.

---

RE: CITV is to close - Orry Verducci - 03-09-2023

(03-09-2023, 03:49 PM)WillPS Wrote:  What "transmission costs" does ITVX have? I don't think they even have one of those placeholder broadcast channels (ala Pop Player) do they?

You probably mean bandwidth costs, which isn't at all the same thing and (unlike transmission costs) can be scaled according to demand (=revenue). ITV X also has an ability to capture revenue directly from the user, which of course broadcast does not.

Alongside the packaging and CDN (bandwidth) costs it's worth mentioning there are other costs involved that don't scale.

There's encoding costs for the streams, both for the VOD assets (charged once per encode) and the live streams (charged per minute), which are charged regardless of viewers. For the VOD assets there are of course storage costs. For live services, be it the traditional linear services or the FAST services, there are also playout costs involved.

Not to mention the costs of running and developing the platform and the staff that go with it.

(03-09-2023, 01:06 PM)newsjunkie Wrote:  I wouldn't be surprised if there is something more to the closure of the CITV channel. Whether that be to sell/hand back the freeview/satellite space? I also wouldn't be surprised if this is a slow process to scale back linear tv services. Traditional tv viewing is falling fast now and the costs will soon exceed the income directly from more of their channels.

Carriage costs will of course been a factor, as that's capacity they won't have to pay for going forwards. With respect to Freeview, CITV was carried on the SDN mux, which ITV own, so that's capacity that SDN/ITV can now sell to someone else and earn from.

As I mentioned a few posts back ITV and Red Bee are in the process of planning a playout upgrade and move, so the closure of CITV will also help there as that's one less channel they will need to install infrastucture for.

---

RE: CITV is to close - WillPS - 03-09-2023

(03-09-2023, 04:02 PM)Orry Verducci Wrote:  Alongside the packaging and CDN (bandwidth) costs it's worth mentioning there are other costs involved that don't scale.

There's encoding costs for the streams, both for the VOD assets (charged once per encode) and the live streams (charged per minute), which are charged regardless of viewers. For the VOD assets there are of course storage costs. For live services, be it the traditional linear services or the FAST services, there are also playout costs involved.

Not to mention the costs of running and developing the platform and the staff that go with it.

Yes, but ignoring the FAST service related costs those are all sunk costs which ITV is totally committed to; there's no question that ITV see ITV X as their future.

The same cannot be said of the costs of broadcasting CITV, ITV Be or the 4 +1 services.

---

RE: CITV is to close - CCFG - 03-09-2023

(02-09-2023, 01:46 PM)Brekkie Wrote:  Just the usual Programmes start at 9pm MHEG caption at the moment and no daytime content scheduled all week.   The CITV is closed MHEG caption on CITV too, so currently the stream is unused.

And now we know the reason why.
ITVBe+1 has extended it's hours.
https://rxtvinfo.com/2023/itvbe1-benefits-from-citv-closure-on-freeview/ 

---