FMS-Blog : The Wildly Whimsical, Mostly Musical WebLog
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Film4 goes Free
From the 23rd July this year, Channel 4's sister station, Film4, will be free to all digital television viewers. I have felt for a long time how much of a shame it has been that the one UK-based television channel that plays quality movies from all over the world was a subscription only station, meaning that even those with Sky's movies package haven't benefited from the plethora of wonderful movies that Film4 broadcasts.
Well, as many other channels (such as the Artsworld channel) open their doors to digital viewers free of charge, Film4 will now be available to anyone with cable, satellite or a freeview box without the need to subscribe separately (new channel numbers etc are to be confirmed). If anything, I think Sky will lose out once this change has been made : I fail to see why anyone would continue to purchase the Sky Movies channels - that seem to endlessly repeat the same Hollywood trash - when they have the option of viewing many, many highly acclaimed, international films absolutely F.O.C. thanks to Channel 4.
In my opinion, Channel 4's terrestrial television station has long been one of the best channels for quality programming on the old analogue system (along with the likes of BBC2) and I think it's great that Film4 will now be accepting a much wider audience - this is a huge bonus for film buffs and can only have a positive impact on the film industry as a whole. Good work C4!
Well, as many other channels (such as the Artsworld channel) open their doors to digital viewers free of charge, Film4 will now be available to anyone with cable, satellite or a freeview box without the need to subscribe separately (new channel numbers etc are to be confirmed). If anything, I think Sky will lose out once this change has been made : I fail to see why anyone would continue to purchase the Sky Movies channels - that seem to endlessly repeat the same Hollywood trash - when they have the option of viewing many, many highly acclaimed, international films absolutely F.O.C. thanks to Channel 4.
In my opinion, Channel 4's terrestrial television station has long been one of the best channels for quality programming on the old analogue system (along with the likes of BBC2) and I think it's great that Film4 will now be accepting a much wider audience - this is a huge bonus for film buffs and can only have a positive impact on the film industry as a whole. Good work C4!
