"innovation, the report proposes this course of strategic plan for Sky Sports in pursuing theirTVE services, supported by heavy investment in advertising (Wilson & Gilligan, 2005)Sky's TVE product can be considered as re-positioning or re-targeting of existing contentthrough new technology (Wilson & Gilligan, 2005) in order to provide flexibility to itsexisting customers to consume content on their own terms both in and out of the home, andprovide Sky with the potential to distribute its content more widely and tap into new pocketsof demand (Appendix Ill)Sky should consider price as the second principle element of the marketing mix; pricingdecisions are among the most difficult due to complexities that exist in the interaction andrelationship between customers and competitors, Sky need to take this into account whensetting or changing prices of the TVE product offering (Wilson & Gilligan, 2005) The thirdfundamental element of the marketing mix that this report shall explore is that of promotion,for Sky promotional activity is essentially its marketing communication to the consumerenvironment, and the question of how Sky can integrate and align its communications withthe other elements of the market mix this paper has explored is of great significance, andshould be considered in depth when planning the implementation of Strategy andachievement of objectives (Wilson 8, Gilligan, 2005). The area of communications isconsidered to be the fastest moving element of the marketing mix, with a vast array of toolsavailable, therefore the report will summaries the main issues which Sky should pay attentionto when developing the promotional programme for its TVE products,Sky needs to consider who the target audience is (identified through segmentation), the focusthen shifts to the communication objectives, what are the objectives to achieve in terms ofcognitive, behavioural or affective responses: the focus then moves to the design of thecommunication - the content, the structure, the format, the communication source, beforeconsidering the communication channels that will carry the message what is the most effective way to reach the target market; the mix of communications tools to be used andhow this mix aligns and integrates with the marketing mix (Nilson & Gilligan, 2005)Jobber (2001) cited by Wilson and Gilligan (2005) describes four principle characteristics ofan effective marketing mix:? It matches c ustom e rs ’ needs by reflecting the issues important to them in the choiceprocess? It creates a competitive advantage? It matches the resources available to the organisation? Each of the elements contributes to a single consistent themeAppendix I - PESTEL AnalysisPolitical Sky sports operates in the UK which has a stable political environment, a conservativegovernment has been voted into office in 2015 and have a five year term ahead. Traditionallythe conservative party are pro-business (Conservatives, 2015), this provides a good settingfor Sky to do business in Tax avoidance by large corporations is on the political agenda(Conservatives, 2015) Sky has been criticised in the past for tax avoidance (Guardian, 2014),so sky should take measure to avoid reputational damage by getting caught up in controversyas it could damage business through consumer reaction.Economic Environment The recent Economic and Fiscal Outlook Report by the Office for Budget Responsibilityreleased in November 2015 paints a healthy picture for the UK economy with GDP growthforecast in all years of the forthcoming parliament, the increased forecast revisions for 2016and 2017 should go some way to contribute to increased consumer confidence. The balanceof domestic demand will be positively affected by the g ov e rnme nts’ decisions to increasedepartmental current and capital spending, as well as easing the pace of fiscal tightening.Employment is has grown strongly in 2015, rising above 31 million for the first time,meaning the unemployment rate has fallen to 5,3%, added to this is the pick up in wagegrowth. Inflation is forecast for a controlled ascent from its current level of 0.1 to the targetlevel of 2.0 in 2019 (OBR, 2015)The Telegraph's analysis of BE monetary policy argues strongly that interest rates will notincrease from the 0.5% bank rate which has held for more than six years until the latter partof 2016, even then any increase is likely to be very slow. (The Telegraph, 2015)This relatively rosy economic outlook coupled with the steady rise in GDHI (GrossDisposable Household Income) is good news for Sky as all things point to a confidentconsumer group with money in their pocket available for exploitation Corporation Tax rateshave fallen slightly, now sitting at 20% from April 1st 2015, fallen from a rate of 24% atApril 1st 2012 (gov.uk, 2015), again this represents favourable conditions for Sky'soperations, ultimately due to the reduced tax liability.Social/cultural Factors Viewing habits are changing, with time spent by consumers watching traditional broadcastTV falling, especially among 25-30 year olds, exactly the consumer group who should bebuying sky subscriptions (The Guardian, 2015). Ofcom (2015) report that proportion of thepopulation watching broadcast TV in an average week fell from 93.4% in 2013 to 92,4% in2014, As a proportion of all viewing, time-shifted viewing increased, this is watchingprogrammes on recording devices such as Sky+, and accounted fro 12.4% of broadcast Tvviewing in 2014 up from 11.3% in 2013. By age, time-shifted viewing is most prevalentamong the 25-34 age group at 23,7% in 2014. Interestingly younger adults aged 16-34 aremost likely be without a working TV set in the home, 116% (Ofcorn, 2015), this accordswith a growing trend of shifting away from the primary traditional television screen to multidevice viewing such as laptop, PC, Smartphone and tablet, this is otherwise known within theindustry as TVE (TV everywhere), TVE has been developed as a collective strategy toenhance the traditional TV offering by allowing viewing off the primary screen and onto thesecondary screen facilitated by the devices described earlier, In particular they are attemptingto add new functionality and interactivity to the television viewing experience and allowcustomers greater choice on how they consume their content (VIII P, 2015)Although the foregoing demonstrates a change in viewing habits, the traditional TV marketremains very strong, in 2014 a UK population of 63,9 million made up 28.7 millionhouseholds, of which 28,4 million were TV households, Pay TV had penetrated 56.5% ofthese households, with Internet Broadband penetration being 84% and mobile penetration astaggering 131% (WIPO, 2015). From Sky's perspective there is just under half of TVhouseholds to target with pay TV, the majority of which have broadband and mobile accessripe for exploiting the mix of services and growing trend of TVE (WIPO, 2015) "