Are Rocks & Co the First Casualties?

[Marble]

Oh! That's interesting re Sky vs Freeview .... I don't know anybody who has Freeview, all my buddies/family have Sky. I have Freeview inbuilt into the TV, but never use it.

Again, KB hits it on the head with her comments up there.

 

[Mirabelle]

"Roll on the launch of Rocks.tv going live on sky 647 on January 5th 2010...


The Bennetts are going to be some serious competition!!!!

Mirabelle xx

 

[Meeshoo]

"Roll on the launch of Rocks.tv going live on sky 647 on January 5th 2010...


The Bennetts are going to be some serious competition!!!!

Mirabelle xx

Ok - before I say this, let me just say that I very rarely buy from any of the jewellery outlets now as I prefer to get certified gemstones and buy direct from lapidarists so ......... in my opinion:

RocksTV has a specific market. It's low end, low quality (sorry but this is based on my experience) but priced correctly. They've always had seriously good CS and interact with customers brilliantly but I've been buying jewellery for years and don't buy anything, apart from the odd costume piece of jewellery from them (and I know I'm not the only jewellery collector to think this). They may stay afloat because they turn over lots of stock at the right price point. They will never though attract the same audience as TJC unless they change their products. I'm not criticising RocksTV at all because I have the greatest respect for the Bennetts. They've got a niche in the market and are working it well.

TJC is by far superior in that it has some stunningly well cut, well priced, well made items.

GemsTV have lost their way and certainly lost me forever as a customer with the recent debacle.

Rocks and Co just can't compete because they've pee'd off so many customers and don't listen to feedback. Like Marble, I don't know anybody who has Freeview. Everybody I know has Sky. If Freeview were that popular then ALL of the channels would have been on that and not Sky.

 

[Phill]

Every channel wants to be on freeview as it will eventually take over analogue tv, so that means every tv will have freeview on it anyway! Space is limited that’s why its so expensive to get channels on there.
Sky has 9.536m subscribers, not including the people who have cancelled to watch freesat from sky,
Freeview is now on over 10m main tv sets,
Virgin cable has 4.74m subscribers
and Freesat has 750,000

Freeview will always be in more homes as nearly every tv has it built in, only two more years left of analogue people, depending on your area!

 

[Klosblue]

Ok - before I say this, let me just say that I very rarely buy from any of the jewellery outlets now as I prefer to get certified gemstones and buy direct from lapidarists so ......... in my opinion:

RocksTV has a specific market. It's low end, low quality (sorry but this is based on my experience) but priced correctly. They've always had seriously good CS and interact with customers brilliantly but I've been buying jewellery for years and don't buy anything, apart from the odd costume piece of jewellery from them (and I know I'm not the only jewellery collector to think this). They may stay afloat because they turn over lots of stock at the right price point. They will never though attract the same audience as TJC unless they change their products. I'm not criticising RocksTV at all because I have the greatest respect for the Bennetts. They've got a niche in the market and are working it well.

TJC is by far superior in that it has some stunningly well cut, well priced, well made items.

GemsTV have lost their way and certainly lost me forever as a customer with the recent debacle.

Rocks and Co just can't compete because they've pee'd off so many customers and don't listen to feedback. Like Marble, I don't know anybody who has Freeview. Everybody I know has Sky. If Freeview were that popular then ALL of the channels would have been on that and not Sky.

Ooooo I feel another song coming on!! You took the words right out of my mouth......la la la la la!!!

I agree with you 100% Meeshoo. I thinks Rocks TV will do very well on TV and I welcome them with open arms but they are geared towards a totally different market from TJC. TJC have no competition now and I don't forsee them having any in the near future either.

 

[Lee Jones]

I don't know anybody who has Freeview. Everybody I know has Sky. If Freeview were that popular then ALL of the channels would have been on that and not Sky.

:mysmilie_348:

Pardon the newbie here for correcting, but Freeview is currently received in over 18 million homes (at the last count) whereas Sky is currently received in around 10 million homes.

Obviously like you've noted, Freeview has a lot less channels, this isn't because channel's broadcasting on Sky don't want to broadcast on Freeview - quite the opposite, they'd love to but Freeview is not as an open platform as Sky - as it is broadcasted via terrestrial transmitters whereas channels are received on Sky via satellites in orbit, of which there are a great deal, and no shortage for new channels.

So not only does Freeview have an additional 8 or so million viewers, the fact there is considerably less channels on Freeview, means that the percentage of people who come across Rocks & Co (or any channel for that matter) would be far higher as viewers have far less channels to flick through.

Plus with Freeview not having much of a genre channel order, people channel hoping up and down can't really miss such shopping channels as they could avoid on Sky, as they are all mixed up.

When you know these facts, is it such a bad business move for Rocks and Co to decide to focus on it's Freeview slot?

I'm also very suprised that you don't know even one of the 18 million Freeview households...

 

[Meeshoo]

Actually when I said "channels" I meant all the jewellery shopping channels not ALL channels.

As I said, whether Freeview is in every house in the land or not, I don't have it, my neighbours don't have it, my best friends don't have it, Klosblue doesn't have it, Marble doesn't have it, Miss Magpie doesn't have it and somebody on here has 2 boxes!

 

[Pinkpussycat]

I don't have it either but then I don't buy from Rocks TV so it doesn't matter.:mysmilie_61: Btw I completely agree with your analysis of them and their jewellery Meesh.

 

[Sazza]

Meeshoo, do none of your friends have a digital TV then?

The number of people with Freeview will just keep rising as the majority of TVs now sold are digital, they have built in digital tuner, as analogue will be no more soon enough.

 

[Graham]

Our analogue tv has gone, have cancelled Sky as just wasn"t watching it. Have Freeview built into my telly and use Freesat to record on. Still have Virgin but thinking of cancelling that in the new year as well.

Freeview boxes are part of the basic range now in Sainsbury.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MissMagpie]

My mother lives in Cumbria where digital switchover has already taken place, so now she ONLY has Freeview - no analogue terrestrial channels at all. Of course she could have Sky if she wanted to, but Freeview is, well, free...

 

[Meeshoo]

Meeshoo, do none of your friends have a digital TV then?

The number of people with Freeview will just keep rising as the majority of TVs now sold are digital, they have built in digital tuner, as analogue will be no more soon enough.

I may be extremely thick but I thought that everybody had to have a digital TV now as everything is digital?

I have an HD, digital TV but as far as I know it doesn't have Freeview. As I said, no-one I know has Freeview - they're all on Sky.

 

[Klosblue]

Actually can I make a correction and a comment on the number of homes receiving Freeview.

I said I didn't have it but hubby has just corrected me and in fact it's built into our TVs.

So, my comment is this - out of the 18 million homes which receive Freeview, how many people actually watch it? I was just given a run through the channels and compared to Sky they're pretty carp! Handy for some variety if you can't have/don't want/can't afford Sky but I can see why it's free.

So, another question then - TJC are on both Sky and Freeview so why are Rocks severing their ties with Sky and not having both? I still think it's a bit of a kick in the teeth to their customers who watched on Sky.

Another point to note:- Everyone who has bought a TV in the last couple of years will have Freeview built in. They didn't chose to have it, they got it in their TV. Anyone who has Sky has chosen to have it. Therefore, the figures quoted don't paint as clear a picture as was suggested.

 

[Sazza]

I may be extremely thick but I thought that everybody had to have a digital TV now as everything is digital?

I have an HD, digital TV but as far as I know it doesn't have Freeview. As I said, no-one I know has Freeview - they're all on Sky.

Not all areas have had the analogue switched off yet and even where it has as long as someone has a Sky Box, Virgin Box or a Freeview Box they can still use their old analogue TV.

If you have a Digital TV then there will be Freeview in it.

 

[jacqualina]

We bought a new HD Philips TV two years ago, would that also have Freeview built into it? If it does, I have no idea how to access it. All I can find is Sky and Sky HD channels. Will have to check it again when I get back to Blighty.

 

[Pinkpussycat]

I bought a new Sony LCD tv last December but if it's got Freeview then feck knows how to use it lol. :mysmilie_17: I still think the picture quality is not as good as my old Sony CRT which was superb.

 

[Meeshoo]

Yep, if mine's got Freeview then I have no idea how to access it!

So of the 18 million that have Freeview and the 12 million that have Sky, I apparently fall into both categories (unknowingly) but of the 18 million who have Freeview, how many actually know?

 

[Marble]

I have Freeview built in to the telly, but never use it - I have Sky. I only have the free channels from Sky - there are more free channels on Sky than there are on Freeview. So, like many people I have a leg in Freeview and a leg in Sky. It's probably a safe bet that 100% of people with Sky watch Sky, but I wonder what the percentage is of people with Freeview that actually watch Freeview. I still think it's a bit bonkers not to straddle the 2 platforms

 

[MissMagpie]

Since almost all newish tellies will have Freeview built into them, perhaps the 18 million refers to those who actually USE it? Maybe someone can enlighten?

It does seem likely that something which is free will be more popular than something which requires a monthly subscription. Obviously if you have Sky, then you wouldn't bother with Freeview; but there are plenty of people (like my mother) who wouldn't bother getting (and paying for) Sky when they can have Freeview for nothing - if you see what I mean.

 

[Phill]

Freeview is not in 18 million homes, freeview is in 10 million homes, and the other 8.2 million is in the same home on another tv.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/news/a189618/freeview-now-on-10m-main-tv-sets.html