Virgin Media O2 and UKTV have solidified their partnership with a new multi-year agreement, giving Virgin TV customers continued access to a range of popular channels and expanding the reach of the U streaming service.
Here’s the Lowdown: The deal ensures Virgin Media TV customers can keep watching pay channels U&GOLD and U&alibi, featuring shows like Murdoch Mysteries, Miss Scarlet, Hudson & Rex, Only Fools And Horses, Dad’s Army and Absolutely Fabulous: Inside Out. Crucially, UKTV’s streaming service, U, will launch on Virgin TV V6 boxes this summer, making it available to almost all (95%) Virgin TV homes.
What This Means Now: This summer, most Virgin TV customers will have easy access to U, becoming the primary platform for on-demand content from UKTV’s free-to-air channels. Currently, U is only available on Stream or Virgin TV 360 boxes. UKTV’s free-to-air channels U&Dave, U&DRAMA, U&W, U&YESTERDAY and U&eden, will still be part of the package.
The Bigger Picture: This is a win-win for both companies and their customers. Virgin Media O2 strengthens its content offering, while UKTV extends the reach of its U streaming service, which has seen substantial growth, with views up 34% in 2024. The deal builds upon a strong existing relationship, which has recently seen the launch of UKTV’s FAST channels (U&LAUGHS, U&Transport, U&Real Heroes and U&The Past) on Virgin Media platforms, an area of viewing that now reaches half a million customers monthly.
