I want that news job!

[Anorak]

Can I have a news editor's job please? Because from what I've heard today, some just cannot do their job properly.

Spin's news this morning announced Sky's decision to show Ireland's game on Sky 1.

Except, according to them, it had been taken off pay-per-view and put on a free channel!

That is just plain sloppy. Sky Sports is a subscription channel. Pay-per-view is an "events" subscription service where you pay a one-off fee for a (usually) once-off event.

And, Sky 1 is certainly not free. Can Spin's news editor tell me how they manage to pick it up for free? I don't watch the channel, but would love to add it to my viewing choice at no cost. It is encrypted on satellite, and although most people in Ireland receive it via cable, they are paying for it.

Spin are not alone though. The Evening Herald headlined it as coming off "pay-per-view" as well!

[Billy Dane]

I think the reference to Sky Sports (and Sky in general) as a pay-per-view broadcaster has been very much been quoted in newsrooms and newspapers across the country since the story broke. I agree. So, so sloppy.

[KJ]

I disagree slightly ....... I see Sky One as a "free" channel (albeit included in the license fee), Sky Sports is a "pay" channel as far as Im concerned. Even the Sky package I got installed in the house is the minimum package one and it doesnt include any of the Sport channels

[Radio Mad]

Free-to-air are those channels people can receive without having to pay for them. In order to receive any Sky channel, you must either subscribe to a cable operator or buy a satellite dish. RTÉ, TV3, BBC, ITV and Channel are free-to-air because they can be viewed without a person having to subscribe to either cable or satellite.

[Anorak]

Kelly,

You're not the news editor at Spin by any chance, are you?

Nobody disputes that Sky Sports is a pay channel, but it is NOT a 'pay-per-view' channel. Sky 1 is the same as Sky Sports, just in a different subscription tier. You can see Sky 1 however you like, but the facts are what newsteams should be reporting.
BTW your licence fee only covers RTE TV and radio, nothing else.

And, unless you're getting your Sky package (however minimum) for free, you are paying for Sky 1!

[featherstone]

Sky One is part of the basic TV package but is no less free than BBC or ITV or Channel 4. Sky Sports is extra, but still not pay per view. I agree that it's all a bit sloppy.