[Matt]

Sky and Virgin Media resolve distribution row

Channels including Sky1, Sky News and Sky Sports News will be available to Virgin Media customers again from November 13 after the cable TV company and BSkyB today reached a deal to end their 20-month row over distribution.

Sky and Virgin Media have today agreed two new carriage deals and will drop high court proceedings against each other.

From November 13, Sky's basic package of nine channels - which includes Sky1, Sky2, Sky3, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Sky Arts and Sky Real Lives - will return to Virgin Media's 3.6m cable TV households.

The second agreement is a new deal for Virgin Media TV's basic channels, including Living, Bravo, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin 1, to continue to run on Sky's digital satellite TV service. Both deals will run concurrently until June 12 2011.

BSkyB's basic channel package was removed from Virgin Media homes in March last year after an acrimonious spat over the price the cable company should pay to distribute them.

Source & Full Story: MediaGuardian

Sky1, Sky News back on Virgin cable

Sky's bouquet of basic TV channels including Sky1 and Sky News are to return to Virgin Media's digital cable service on November 13.

The broadcasters have reached two separate agreements for the carriage of the Sky basics package on Virgin and Virgin Media Television's Living, Bravo, Trouble and Virgin1 bouquet on the Sky electronic programme guide.

Full commercial terms were not disclosed but the agreements include annual carriage fees plus additional capped payments subject to performance-related targets. Both deals expire on June 12, 2011.

The Sky basic channels will be spread across each tier of Virgin's cable TV service: Sky3, Sky News and Sky Sports News will be available in the lowest M tier; Sky1 and Sky2 will be available in the L tier; and Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives 2 will join the XL tier.

"We are pleased to bring our carriage negotiations with Sky to a successful close," said Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett. "I believe this agreement represents a fair deal and is the right thing for our customers. We recognise the quality and popularity of Sky's channels and look forward to welcoming them back to Virgin Media's TV service. We are also pleased to secure Sky's continued carriage of the Virgin Media Television channels until June 2011."

"This is great news for Sky and Virgin Media customers alike," said Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch. "We want our channels to be enjoyed by as many people as possible so we're delighted to secure their return to the Virgin Media platform."

In March 2007, Sky's basic channels were pulled from Virgin's cable service after a protracted carriage dispute resulted in an existing agreement being allowed to lapse. Virgin accused Sky of "doubling" the price of its channels, a claim denied by Sky, which suggested that Virgin customers displeased by the removal of Sky1 and Sky News should join Sky instead. Last April, Virgin filed a suit against Sky at the High Court, demanding that Sky's channels be supplied at a "reasonable commercial rate" and alleging that Sky abused its position in the pay TV market by forcing Virgin to accept an 85% cut in payments for the Virgin Media Television channels' carriage on Sky's EPG. Relations thawed this March, however, when it was revealed that carriage negotiations had restarted.

Source: Digital Spy

[Tom4784]

HALLEJULAH!!!!!

About time!

[*mazedsalv**]

Wooo Im so excited, I had Sky One before and then it was cancelled when i got Virgin Media, Im soo happy that its coming back on the 13th November.

Link- http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitalt...gin-cable.html

[*mazedsalv**]

Woops sorry

[Matt]

Sky/Virgin Media press release:

BSkyB and Virgin Media Sign New Channel Carriage Agreements

Breakthrough for pay satellite and cable customers as carriage of "basic" channels secured until June 2011

Sky and Virgin Media (NASDAQ:VMED) today announced that, following successful negotiations, they have agreed two new channel carriage deals.

The first agreement will see the return, on 13 November, of Sky's Basic channels – including Sky1, Sky2, Sky3, Sky News, Sky Sports News, Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives 2 – to Virgin Media's cable TV service. The second agreement provides for the continued carriage of Virgin Media TV's basic channels – Living, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Trouble, Challenge and Virgin 1 – as part of Sky's retailed channel line-up on satellite. Both deals will run concurrently until 12 June 2011.

The agreements include fixed annual carriage fees for the channels with both channel suppliers able to secure additional capped payments if their channels meet certain performance-related targets.
Commenting on the agreements, Virgin Media's CEO, Neil Berkett, said: "We are pleased to bring our carriage negotiations with Sky to a successful close. I believe this agreement represents a fair deal and is the right thing for our customers. We recognise the quality and popularity of Sky's channels and look forward to welcoming them back to Virgin Media's TV service. We are also pleased to secure Sky's continued carriage of the VMTV channels until June 2011."

Jeremy Darroch, Sky's CEO, adds: "This is great news for Sky and Virgin Media customers alike. We want our channels to be enjoyed by as many people as possible so we're delighted to secure their return to the Virgin Media platform."

As part of the agreements, both Sky and Virgin Media have agreed to terminate all High Court proceedings against each other relating to the carriage of their respective basic channels.

- ends -


Notes to Editors

Sky3, Sky News and Sky Sports News will join Virgin Media's "M" TV package and therefore be available to all digital TV subscribers.

Sky1 and Sky2 will join Virgin Media's "L" TV package and therefore be available to both "L" and "XL" TV subscribers.

Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2, Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives 2 will join Virgin Media's "XL" TV package.

Living, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Virgin 1 and Challenge will be available to subscribers of Sky's "Variety" channel pack.

Trouble will be available to subscribers to Sky's "Children's" pack.

[MR.K!]

Why dont people just get Sky !!! Its just stupid. Virgin Media shows NOTHING !

[Matt]

Originally posted by MR.K!
Virgin Media shows NOTHING !

How doesn't it? It has all the major channels (more of them than Freeview), optional Sky Sports and Movies, and now they've got the Sky Channels back they're showing even more

[Locke.]

Lost & 24's ratings will pick up again

[Callum]

Oh my god, yes! I'll be able to watch Britney's documentary and Fringe now!

[bluehill]

yes yes yes yes yes
LOST HERE WE COME
24 HERE WE COME
SIMPSONS HERE WE COME
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
omg im sooooooooooo excited iv never been so exicted over virgin before
: dance:

[Callum]

Virgin Media will pay Sky at least £30m per year for its basic channels such as Sky1 and Sky News, it was revealed today.

On Tuesday, Virgin and Sky announced they had struck new carriage agreements for Sky's basic channels on Virgin Media cable TV and for the carriage of Virgin's Living, Bravo, Trouble and Virgin1 channels on Sky's EPG.

The Sky channels will reappear on Virgin cable on November 13. Today, Virgin Media revealed that it is paying Sky a licence fee of £30m per year plus performance-based additional payments of up to £6m in year one, £8m in year two, and £7.9m for the seven months to the expiration of the agreement in June 2011. The base rate of £30m per year is believed to be on a par with what Virgin paid Sky for the channels before their departure in March 2007.

Virgin also revealed that Sky is paying Virgin a licence fee of exactly the same value for the carriage of Virgin Media Television's channels in Sky's subscription packages.

Source: DS

[Dan_]

About time and all! Finally get to watch some newer episodes of The Simpsons.

[Tom4784]

Originally posted by MR.K!
Why dont people just get Sky !!! Its just stupid. Virgin Media shows NOTHING !

Virgin Media allows you to record more as they have 80 hours, also you can record more programs at the same time. Now they've got more TV channels.