Virgin & Sky Extend Channels Deal

LONDON: Sky and Virgin Media have agreed to a new five-year carriage deal, which includes the addition of more HD channels than were previously part of their pact.

Virgin Media will continue to offer its customers a selection of Sky's leading entertainment channels as well as content from Sky Movies and Sky Sports. In addition to its current Sky channel roster, Virgin Media also gains carriage for Sky Sports 3 HD, Sky Sports 4 HD and Sky Sports F1 HD, with Sky Sports News HD and Sky News HD to follow.

Virgin TV customers will be able to access their Sky entertainment channels on multiple devices, including computers, and for the first time, selected tablets and mobiles, via the Virgin TV Anywhere app.

Jeremy Darroch, the chief executive at Sky, commented: “We’re pleased to have extended our partnership with Virgin Media, which increases the reach of our content and reinforces our broadly based approach to growth. This agreement builds on our long-standing relationship with Virgin Media, enabling us to deliver our great channels to even more homes across the U.K. and opening up additional sources of revenue.”

Tom Mockridge, Virgin Media’s CEO, said: “We are excited our customers will be able to watch even more great TV from Sky on more devices as a result of the most extensive agreement ever signed between Virgin Media and Sky. This promises to be a fantastic summer of entertainment and our customers, whether at home or on the go, will get to enjoy Sky’s range of channels for years to come as a result of our investment.”