UKTV Channels Being Dropped by Virgin Media

UKTV’s portfolio of channels, including Dave and Gold, will no longer be available to customers of Virgin Media in the U.K. and Ireland if the two companies fail to reach an agreement over a new distribution contract by Sunday.

So far, the two companies have been unable to reach an agreement for a new contract, after Virgin Media requested a significant cut in the fees that it pays to UKTV. As part of a new deal, the broadcaster is proposing to offer Virgin Media an increased range of on-demand catch-up and box sets, enhanced distribution rights and an additional channel, Gold HD.

The existing agreement will expire at midnight on Saturday, July 21. Without a new contract, UKTV’s ten channels—including Alibi, W, Really, Yesterday and Drama—will no longer be available on the Virgin Media platform.

Virgin is planning to add a range of new channels and programming. This includes the Paramount Network in HD, with shows like Suits and Designated Survivor; YourTV, a new channel that is home to Castle, Bones and Body of Proof; Love Nature, which is exclusive to Virgin TV and has nature programs; IQTV, which contains quiz shows like Mastermind and The Weakest Link; and various box sets such as Shades of Blue, Supergirl and Madam Secretary.

David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “From Sunday all UKTV channels and programs will be replaced on Virgin TV.

“Virgin Media has had a long relationship with UKTV, but viewing behaviors amongst our customers are changing and we are committed to investing in the kind of programming they want to watch, whenever and however they want to watch it. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions put on UKTV by the BBC, UKTV is not able to provide the significant on-demand programming that we know our customers want.

“We are still in discussions with UKTV but we have already invested in an extensive collection of replacement high-quality programming for our customers to enjoy. In addition, we continue to expand our range of on-demand and 4K Ultra HD TV with more coming this year.”

Darren Childs, chief executive of UKTV, said, “We want to continue to provide our channels to Virgin Media, but the huge cut in fees that Virgin has requested doesn’t reflect the value we bring to customers. UKTV’s channels account for over a quarter of pay entertainment channel viewing within Virgin Media’s basic subscription pack, while our on-demand viewing has grown by over a third in the last year. The money we receive from platforms helps to pay for our record investment in high-quality programmes, which we increased to more than £150 million in the last year. If our ten channels, including Dave, W, Gold and Alibi, are no longer available through Virgin, we will be hugely disappointed for the millions of customers who will lose out. We’ll keep working with other platforms to bring viewers the drama, comedy and documentaries they love.”