VIRGIN Media customers will find two new channels on their TVs from today – and they’re both available for free.
The latest shake-up will be welcome relief to viewers who have bid farewell to a number of channels lately.
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This week saw the end of cooking and food channel Tastemade.
And in February, Eurosport ceased broadcasting in the UK after 35 years.
Fortunately, a new rugby channel came along to fill the gap on TV planners for those who subscribe to Premier Sports.
But these newest additions can be accessed at no extra cost.
These are Rakuten TV Top Movies and Rakuten TV Action.
Tap 446 and 447 respectively on your Virgin Media TV remote to find them instantly.
You will need a Virgin TV 360 and Flex box to access the pair.
Both are streamed TV channels, which rely on your broadband internet connection instead of traditional cable.
Virgin Media has been launching a number of these lately, with the tally now standing at 32.
Company boss David Bouchier recently revealed that as many as 50 could eventually land on Virgin TV boxes to fill the gap from channel closures.
“We know great TV and entertainment is a priority for our customers, so it’s brilliant to be able to offer them access to exciting new content at no extra cost,” he said of the new Rakuten channels.
“From comedy to cooking and everything in between, our line-up of FAST channels offers something for everyone, and these exciting new additions will provide our customers even more access to popular films and TV shows from Rakuten TV at the click of a button.”
Are more channels facing the chop?
Analysis by Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
Tastemade was a relatively minor channel but it further demonstrates how uncertain the broadcasting sector is at the moment.
Sky has just lost some channels on satellite in the latest shake-up to affect Sky Q.
But more big name channels could end in future.
BBC announced in 2022 that CBBC and BBC Four would disappear as traditional linear channels in a few years and go digital only via iPlayer.
However, the pair may have had a bit of a reprieve for now, after the BBC’s head of children’s programmes, Patricia Hildago, recently said “it’s really important… that if children still need us on a linear network, we’re going to be there for them”.
When Channel 4 announced the closure of The Box and other music channels it owned in January, the broadcaster hinted that more could come.
At the time the company said it was proposing to “close small linear channels that no longer deliver revenues or public value at scale, including the Box channels in 2024 and others at the right time”.
So which could the “others” be? It really depends what Channel 4 considers “small” but its other channels include More4, E4, E4 Extra, Film4 and 4Seven.
