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5 Hours of Live TV on 865 - Emperor's New Clothes
aussie09
Member Posts: 8,033
I think it would be good to return to some of the things that were valued before the changes. The content now seems to include far too much non-current stuff and is not of interest enough to prevent turning over to watch the BAFTAs, or anything else really. Only one hour showing a few hands from tonight's big games, four hours of treading water. Sadly, this format is tedious.
Comments
Mother is currently unwell, so I will reply in her absence.
It would be unrealistic to expect everyone to like the changes, & the new format. Some understanding of what it is attempting to do, & how, may help, though.
1) There is now a 25% increase in Live Shows, 15 hours per week, up from 12. The way the Shows are packaged also gives 865 a better selection, & more, weekly fresh content for non-live shows.
2) They wanted to up the educational quotient - after all, it is a basic message of Sky Poker, and a USP of which we are proud, to promote a better understanding of poker. More "Poker School" & "Poker Clinic" addresses this.
3) They wanted to increase the entertainment quotient, using more & better Guests. This is being achieved, we think we now have more, & better, Guests, & has been very well received by the various target audiences.
4) New Analyasts are being used - Reds, Ryan, Stu, Thewy, & another, yet to be announced, young lady. These have, based upon wider Client feedback, been extremely well received.
5) The revised Format has to address one particular issue very carefully - who is it aimed at? There are two main elements of this, & both are extremely important, being....
a) The EXISTING audience. Keeping loyal players happy is very important, & Ch 865 try hard to do this. It is, however, a financially unsustainable means of player retention, it costs far too much money to solely address that group of viewers.
b) Target a NEW audience, & hope to attract them to Sky Poker. If this does not work, then the Channel would close tomorrow, it is that simple. You will be pleased to know -or, perhaps not - that the Ratings for the new format, although it is early days, are far greater than for the old format, & much much higher than we had dared forecast.
So, it would seem to be doing its job well so far, it is hitting its numbers & more besides. There was never an expectation that it would please all of the existing viewer base - that is not possible. I've been called far worse than "tedious" in my time, too.....
Sometimes there is a need to be brave, & do new things. Better to try & fail & all that.
Some very interesting new stuff is also part of the revamp, & that has yet to hit the 865 screens. Nobody would guess what it is in a million years, but I'll be shocked if it is not well received. Mother has been sweating this new Show intensively for some time now, & fingers crossed, contracts will be signed this week, & it will commence very soon. Details will NOT be revealed until the contracts are signed, as it is commercially sensitive.
865 will continue to try to address & please its existing audience, as well as attracting new audience, & thus new players, to the Site. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important the latter is.
We like these threads, & the valuable feedback they give us, so keep them coming, please.
I think we can all agree on one thing though - the Sky Poker TV channel is much better than the weekly scheduled live TV shows which Pokerstars, Ladbrokes, i-Poker & the other networks finance, produce, & transmit. For that, personally, I am grateful.
I was looking forward to watching the show with James H, Reds and Alex Rousso, but to be honest found it tedious. The unique appeal of 865 has been the "live" feel of the shows, but the majority of this show could have been prerecorded at any time.
The first hour, as Claire admits in the Sky TV thread, is only telling us what is going to happen in the next four hours.
The Poker Clinic section was a little more interesting, but was too much waffle with too little poker analysis.
Then we reached the heart of the show, the Sky Poker School. Which was about multitabling MTTs. But Alex Rousso says he is an Omaha cash player, and Redmond Lee tells us more than once that tournaments are for Sundays only ! So we had a little basic advice on the subject, an irrelevant competition, and then it was unashamed Sky Poker promotion, with a sudden rush of telling us about upcoming upgrades. During this hour a couple of poker hands were shown, but we were not even told which tournament they were from.
Top of the Pots at least promised some poker, and the chance of some hand analysis. But after seeing a couple of hands, it becomes a little one dimensional to watch, unless you are one of the regular players in these high stakes games. Out of 15 or so hands shown, only 2 or 3 had interesting decisions. So the majority of them played themselves, and we had two respected analysts with little to do apart from agree with each other.
Somewhere among all this we had Redmond Lee telling us that cash players are better than tournament players. Most probably correct, but do we need these divisive views expressed ?
Then into the last hour, with highlights of the two main tournaments of the night. But nothing has been done to solve the usual problem that the TV coverage usually finishes before the tournament.
The whole evening lacked the live and interactive feel that has always made 865 unique.
The previous format was attractive because, viewers had a clear choice, cash fans would enjoy Saturdays more, while Sundays were more about tournaments. And a lot of players would watch in the hope of seeing one of their hands shown.
Much prefer the old format.
I basically agree with everything that penguin7 says, apart form maybe Top of the Pots is ok imo.
It's no different to adverts on TV - many of us dislike them, but it helps pay for the Shows we watch. There are no adverts on BBC, but we pay a licence fee for that.
Everything has a cost, & that cost has to be mitigated where possible. If 865 was unable to "drive" viewers to the Site, to "call to action" as our TV Licence describes it, it would close down. In fact, an oddity of Teleshopping licences, which is what 865 operate under (EXCEPT in the Sky Sports simulcast, which is the complete opposite), is that the Channel is legally obliged to devote some time "direct selling".
It might not be ideal, but it seems a small price to pay, in my personal opinion.
Mother will reply to the thread when she returns, but it seems she is unlikely to return this week, as she is quite unwell I gather. I hope she is soon recovered, & back on her feet.
I think all the new Analysts, you included, have been a breath of fresh air, & I think most viewers do, too, but it's the nature of life that folks prefer to discuss negatives, not positives. Don't get disheartened, think of the abuse I get! I thought "tedious" was a compliment, tbh........
Hopefully, the efforts of all of us will be enough to keep the Channel alive & healthy, by attracting tons of new viewers, which has certainly been the case so far.
Constructive feedback, of course, is always welcome.
[QUOTE]Everyone seems to love it or hate it so far! I think it's alright :P It doesn't help that you got rid of Ed. That's the 2nd strangest decision of the decade so far, behind Donnys decision to sack S.O.D !
Posted by DOHHHHHHH
Yup, such is life. But those against make more noise, it's the very nature of life, & entirely reasonable.
It is doing its job well, in that the audience ratings have risen very strongly, & when the other stuff I mentioned earlier starts to arrive, that will give it more variety, & unique programming.
There will be no changes to the format in the short term, it needs time to settle first, & for the Techies, the front of TV "talent", & the viewers, to get the feel of it.
plus
poker is boring to watch, serious!
The trick is trying to keep everyone happy. An impossible trick, but like those intertwined metal rings you get in Xmas Crackers that you have to unravel, it's fun trying.