Virgin customers must check their TVs now or face being blocked from BBC iPlayer

IT’S the final warning to all Virgin Media customers that they could lose access to BBC iPlayer next week unless they upgrade now.

The popular streaming service, for everything from EastEnders catch-up to Doctor Who box sets, will stop working on some kit from Wednesday.

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The Sun exclusively revealed Virgin Media’s plan to drop support last month.

Virgin told us that they had written directly to the “small proportion” of customers affected about the change.

The good news is households impacted can upgrade to a newer box that still has access to iPlayer at no extra cost.

It’s Virgin TV’s older TiVo models that will lose the streaming app from July 23 onward.

V6 and Virgin TV 360 boxes will continue to offer access to BBC iPlayer as normal.

“We have written directly to the small proportion of customers with a TiVo box, who have used BBC iPlayer within the past six months, to inform them that their box will not support iPlayer from 23 July,” Virgin Media told The Sun.

“As we have previously communicated directly to relevant customers, anyone with a TiVo box is able to upgrade to a new Virgin TV 360 box at no extra cost.”

The move may not come as much of a surprise, what with the first TiVo-powered box launched way back in 2010.

Virgin’s most recently box is Virgin TV 360, which burst onto the scene in 2020 with access to more entertainment apps and personalisation.

So if you’re affected, act now to avoid the nasty surprise of no BBC iPlayer very soon.

WHY DOES TECH STOP WORKING?

By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun

It’s annoying when tech and gadgets are discontinued, rendering some features useless.

Fortunately, companies have got better at lengthening how long they support kit.

It tends to only happen after quite a few years have passed and the user numbers have dropped quite low.

The truth of the matter is, firms have to keep updating and servicing this older tech which costs them money.

When there’s only a small number of people left using them older gadgets, it’s harder to justify the cost.

Moreover, new features on things like apps may not work on dated kit.

So ultimately, in the end support is dropped for these gadgets so all their energy, money and time can be put into the newer ones.