Virgin Media Says Nearly One Billion On Demand Views In 2010
The Virgin Media Entertainment Index suggests that Virgin Media also known as Virgin Media TV had a record breaking year after the first entertainment trends report by the company gave a revealing insight into how viewers are enjoying the UK’s premier On Demand service.
According to the Virgin Media Index last year was a record breaking year for On Demand services, with nearly 900 million programmes watched, representing a 10 per cent increase in 2009 viewership figures.
According to VMEI Virgin Media’s On Demand service was the third most watched channel in Britain, with customers watching an average of almost two and a quarter hours every week, longer than the average family viewing of any other channel with the exception of BBC1 and ITV1.
A combined total of 430 million hours of On Demand were watched in the UK, and as the only provider of catch-up services from all four public service broadcasters, Virgin Media’s TV service was also responsible for more than one in every five BBC iPlayer video requests throughout 2010.
Over one million more households have discovered the power of On Demand, where they control their own television schedule, in the four years since the launch of Virgin Media. The unique infrastructure of the company’s cable network ensures almost five thousand hours of programming is instantly available to its customers.
Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media said: “In our increasingly time precious lives, more and more people are switching over to On Demand. It’s a chance to catch-up on something you missed earlier in the week or just watch what you really want at a time that suits you. This year looks set to be transformational in terms of how we watch our favourite shows and I expect we’ll break through the milestone of one billion views in the coming months.
“We’ve pioneered On Demand in the UK, putting nearly five thousand hours of programming at the fingertips of our customers for them to watch when they want. Our next generation TV service, powered by TiVo, takes this to the next level by seamlessly combining traditional linear TV and On Demand with the best of the web, making it easier to find great programmes. As connected TVs bring even more great content to the social screen, the ability to navigate this vast world of entertainment will become critical. Search, browsable collections and recommendations are set to become the dominant discovery tools for the next generation of TV viewers.”
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ESPN Classic Joins Virgin Media TV Choice
Virgin Media TV has announced that addition of ESPN Classic content will now be available on their pioneering on Demand service. ESPN Classic features some of the most memorable moments in sporting history, with nail biting football, rugby, tennis and cricket matches now available alongside the ground breaking ESPN ’30 For 30′ film series.
Director of On Demand TV services & strategy at Virgin Media, Aleks Habdank, said -
Brits love sport and we’ve got a wide range of options for every taste. Our customers can already pause and rewind sports to ensure they don’t miss a single moment, and now, with the addition of ESPN Classic content to our pioneering TV on Demand service, sports fans have even more flexibility for watching some of the greatest highlights from sporting history whenever they want.
ESPN Classic on Demand will feature -
- Best Ever Rugby Matches
- Premier League Football Classics
- Legends of Cricket
Plus up to 20 hours of on demand sporting action available at the touch of button, with fresh content updated every month. Added to the fact that customers will be able to view ESPN Classic via the Virgin Media Online Player, this welcome addition means to can tune into your favourite sporting moments wherever you are.
Vice president for Disney-ABC-ESPN Television, EMEA, Murray Barnett, said -
Sports fans continue to utilise technologies to bring sport into their lives at the times, and in the places, that they want. We’re thrilled to work with a great partner like Virgin Media to continue to find ways to deliver ESPN’s great content to them whenever and wherever we can.
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Channel 5 Demand on Virgin Media TV
Virgin Media TV has announced the new addition of Demand Five to its TV service at no extra cost to customers. The deal with Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd will allow much of its programming to be available On Demand, online and on mobile video from this month, with many of the shows available in glorious HD. This also means that Virgin Media TV will be the first provider to offer all the UK’s terrestrial channels on catch up format.
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
We’re delighted to add Demand Five to our pioneering TV On Demand service and to complete our offering of terrestrial TV catch-up services. With a high calibre of shows including quality US drama, popular Australian soaps and entertaining and informative home grown programmes with many in HD, Demand Five has something for everyone.
This fantastic new deal is great news for those customers who enjoy FIVE’s ever growing range of quality shows, including -
- The Gadget Show
- Fifth Gear
- The Mentalist
- Grey’s Anatomy
- CSI: Miami
- and of course Neighbours and Home and Away!
With over 14 hours of soaps on demand every week, Virgin Media truly is the perfect place for the hardcore soapy! Plus with over 4,600 hours of TV, film and music available to watch On Demand, it’s easy to see why Virgin Media TV is fast becoming the choice of the forward thinking consumer.
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Virgin Media TV Announce New TiVo Powered Service
Virgin Media TV has announced that their next generation of set top boxes will be powered by TiVo, to bring a great selection of television and interactive services to their UK customers. The new HD/3D boxes will offer a massive 1TB of storage space, plus thousands of hours of on Demand films, series and shows. Within the box will be an internal modem which will also allow a whole host of internet services and applications direct to your television.
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
Virgin Media’s next generation connected TV service – powered by TiVo – and combined with our superior broadband will blow other ‘connected TV’ products out of the water. We’re really proud of our new next-generation TV service which will appeal to anyone and everyone looking for the best of live broadcast TV, catch up, on demand and internet apps and services.
The new box, scheduled for launch later this year, will be capable of storing up to an unbelievable 500 hours of content, with access to over 4,600 hours of on Demand entertainment, at the push of a button. Powered by Virgin Media’s fibre optic network, the new service will allow customers to seamlessly watch, surf, and play without compromise.
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Virgin Media TV on the Go with the Nokia N8
Virgin Media TV will now be downloadable as an application for the first time ever! Available on the brand new Nokia N8, the ‘Virgin Media Player’ app will give customers the ability to watch their favourite programmes wherever and whenever they want. The app will also be available to download for free from November 2010 at the Nokia Ovi store for any Nokia N8 customers on any mobile network.
The Virgin Media Player app will feature a whole host of excellent viewing content from the likes of 4oD, Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon. This means that shows such as South Park, The Inbetweeners, The Hills, The IT Crowd and Spongebob Squarepants will be available to watch whilst on the move, perfect for those long train journeys to and from work.
Director of mobile at Virgin Media, Jonathan Kini, said -
The Nokia N8 is a fantastic entertainment handset and the perfect launch partner for our new Virgin Media Player app. With more and more consumers enjoying entertainment on the go, the combination of the Virgin Media Player service and the Nokia N8 provide a compelling way for consumers to keep up with their favourite shows as well as enjoy best in class connectivity features to stay in touch with family and friends.
The Nokia N8 is the perfect phone for watching TV with it’s HD video recorder, impressive 3.5 inch high res touchscreen. The phone features the BBC iPlayer and YouTube apps fitted as standard, and with an internal memory of 16GB that can be expanded to a massive 32GB, there’s loads of room to store for music, photos and film.
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Halloween Fright Nights On Demand Virgin Media TV
Virgin Media TV is offering a great selection of frighteningly good entertainment in the lead up to Halloween! There’s a whole host of great programming planned on both HD TV and movies On Demand with top horrors, sci-fi, and drama for everyone. Take your pick from -
- Season five of Supernatural
- Season one of The Vampire Diaries,
- Charlie Brooker’s classic DeadSet
- Season one and two of Fringe
- Season four of Dexter
Director of On Demand Television and Strategy at Virgin Media, Aleks Habdank, said -
As the UK’s leading TV On Demand service we’re thrilled to bring such a frighteningly good line-up for October. We’ve got a devilishly dark selection of popular U.S drama series as well as side splitting comedy and eye popping 3D and HD movies for Virgin Media customers to sit back and enjoy this month, making Virgin Media the perfect place for all the families’ needs this Halloween season.
Plus if getting ghosts and ghouls isn’t your thing, there’s a great choice of brilliant comedy available such as season eight and nine o South Park in HD and as the third season of The Inbetweeners on E4, though some of the things those boys get up to are enough to have me hiding behind the sofa at times! A Virgin Media bundle package is the first to offer broadband, TV, phone and mobile all from one supplier, and with over 10 million customers already switched on, it’s easy to see why more and more people are switching to Virgin Media.
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Virgin Media TV Expand HD Channels
Virgin Media TV will now be hosting Sky 1 HD, another great channel that will now be available in crystal clear high definition. This superb channel will be available at no extra cost to all customers on the XL Virgin Media bundle package, who now offer an even wider range of compelling entertainment to its customers in HD.
Top of the pile of programmes to watch has to be ‘An Idiot Abroad’, produced by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. This hilarious tour of the seven wonders of the world features the orange headed Karl Pilkington, one of the world’s greatest thinkers! Watch in awe as this Mancunian moaner makes his way across the globe, taking in destinations such as the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Pyramids of Egypt, in a way only he could!
Alongside An Idiot Abroad is the new sports comedy A League of Their Own, hosted by James Corden, plus the top U.S. medical drama House starring Hugh Laurie, and forensic crime series Bones. Plus sci-fi fans are in for a treat with the new season of Stargate Universe, plus the start of the spectacular new series – Fringe.
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
As the new home of HD, our TV service features a fantastic range of the best HD channels available for no additional monthly fee, as well as a unique TV on demand service delivering over 7,500 great TV programmes and movies, including hundreds in HD. The launch of Sky 1 HD and our recent 3D on Demand launch demonstrates our commitment to making our TV service the best option for anyone looking to make the most of their home entertainment experience.
Virgin Media television has the UK’s most advanced and up to date on demand service and was the first TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. Now the countries second biggest pay TV provider, Virgin television endeavour to be at the forefront of not only the latest technology, but also offer their customers the largest and most varied selection of on demand shows and movies available in the UK. It’s easy to see why more and more people are choosing Virgin Media than ever before.
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Virgin Media Launch 3D TV
Virgin Media TV has announced that they will be launching a brand new 3D Movies On Demand channel, allowing viewers to experience the thrill of 3 dimensional TV in their homes. Launched in partnership with Samsung Electronics, the two companies will be working hand in hand to help consumers enjoy the very best 3D experience, with Samsung’s 3D televisions now available in many Virgin Media stores across the UK.
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
We’re really excited to bring a taste of 3D to our customers in the comfort of their own homes. As we’ve already seen with the take-up of high definition programmes, viewers are continually looking for new ways to experience their favourite shows, and with the addition of 3D On Demand, they will be able to watch eye-popping movies whenever they want!
Powered by FilmFlex, Virgin’s 3D Movies On Demand will be launching with StreetDance 3D, which will be available on 24 hour rental for just £5.99. Many more 3D movies will be available in the coming months including -
- Garfield’s Pet Force 3D
- Disney’s A Christmas Carol 3D
- Step Up 3D
- Despicable Me 3D
- Plus more titles to be announced soon
Obviously to watch these films you will need to have a 3D television and the required glasses, though if you want to watch it without them that’s totally up to you! Virgin has successfully tested it’s 3D technology via their fibre optic cable network, and is now ready to offer this service to all customers who have a V HD or V+ HD box.
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Virgin Media Sign Sky Sports 1 & 2HD
Virgin Media TV is the latest company to sign up Sky Sports 1 & 2 to their Virgin media package offerings. The new sports channels will be available from Monday 2nd August 2010 and will cost only £7 per month on any TV package. Both channels will also be available in high definition when subscribing to the optional HD subscription which also covers all ten Sky Movies channels.
Sky Sports is the latest addition to Virgin Media’s stellar cast of HD channels, and is sure to be the jewel in the crown of their diverse and compelling range of HD sports to enjoy. Featuring all the best Premier League football, international cricket and rugby union, Sky Sports is arguably the best sporting channel in the world, and at just £7 a month is an absolute bargain.
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
As the new home of HD telly, we’re delighted to bring our customers Sky Sports in HD at incredibly competitive rates. With the rapid growth of HD content, customers are demanding more and more from their TV service, and with our growing range of HD channels and on demand content in HD, Virgin Media is the best place for the whole families’ entertainment needs.
With the new Premiership season just around the corner, now is a great time to order with Virgin Media. Plus with the much anticipated Ashes Series due in the winter in glorious HD, you need not miss any of the action both home and abroad with this low cost alternative to Sky TV.
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Virgin Media Welcome Channel Five High Definition
Virgin Media TV will be making Channel Five’s new High Definition channel, Five HD, available to it’s 3.7 million TV subscribers for no extra monthly fee. Five HD, will feature Aussie soaps Neighbours and Home & Away and some of the best American dramas available, Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order, as well as great sporting coverage of International Cricket and The Europa League football.
Five’s Director of Strategy, Charles Constable, said -
We broadcast so many high quality series shot in HD, such as Don’t Stop Believing and our line-up of great US dramas, so our schedule is really suited to fantastic picture quality. Five HD is a great addition to our channel portfolio.
Virgin Media TV now has 13 HD channels launched to date, with a further 20, including Sky Sports and Movies, expected later this summer. They also have hundreds of hours of HD TV on demand, which is available as and when you are ready at the touch of a button. As well as a great selection of television series’, there’s also a wide variety of blockbuster movies to watch, not to mention the BBC iPlayer HD. In fact, in the first three months of this year alone, customers have collectively viewed on demand content on their TV’s a staggering 200 million times!
Executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media, Cindy Rose, said -
Five is delivering some really innovative schedules; picking some outstanding international series and pairing them with original home-grown shows. Our customers will now be able to enjoy the HD channels of every national terrestrial broadcaster as well as a rapidly growing roster from other broadcasters so we’re delighted to give our customers Five, in HD.
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