Let's discuss.
OK. There's one thing we can both agree on. "He's a very shrewd businessman"
Yep. Spot on. And, I suppose that's why many don't like him
But if he wasn't, he'd have been gone long ago. Remember how he bought out The Times, when the Sunday edition had been shut for 9 months because of union pressure? Look at News International today. You may not like the method but it worked and how many does News International employ in the UK today?
But to get back to Sky. Remember, Murdoch only bought in to BSB when the management had basically failed to make the thing work financially. And although he started with hiring transponders on the Astra analogue system, I suggest that he was a major influence in the design and success of the digital satellites. Without him, they would have been much later and fewer
As to costs, he does pay well, but I don't think he does any more poaching than the BBC, who do it with public money. But the vast majority of his spend has been on buying and fitting and servicing the network including the boxes that sit in millions of homes
As for quality high def, I fully agree that, when it wants to, the BBC can ramp up the bandwidth so that prime events such as Wimbledon and the Last Night of the Proms are transmitted in full and stunning HD. Nothing can touch it. I can't comment on cable because, like the majority of the UK we don't have (and will never have) access to cable
But my great difficulty with the BBC is that they have given up on sport. Even though they can spend millions on making trailers they just don't pay for live sport anymore. And even when they do all too often we see bits rather than live coverage of the complete event.(although it is beginning to use the red button a bit more) However good the transmission quality it's a bit of a let down when you settle down to an afternoon of crown green bowls and find Sky is transmitting the test match or live premiership football
I can agree that the prices are high, but for folks (like me) who live in the sticks and could never travel or afford to go to a test match or to see one of the top football clubs play I reckon it's good value
And, like him or loathe him, I'm convinced I wouldn't be able to watch all these things if he hadn't had the balls and the foresight to put up his own money in the first place