Coming to Virgin TV

[Media Boy]

I have FOUND the following pics for 'Challenge Jackpot' on WIKI:

PIC 1



PIC 2



---------- Post added at 16:01 ---------- Previous post was at 15:54 ----------

I got this in an email from Zone Romantica when I ask them about when will Zone Romantica appear on Virgin Media:


Dear TV Boy,


Thank you for your email and interest in Zone Romantica.

Unfortunately we do not have any short term plans to broadcast Zone Romantica on
Virgin, however hopefully sometime in the future.

Kind regards,

Zone Romantica

---------- Post added at 17:05 ---------- Previous post was at 16:01 ----------

Planet Rock to stay on air after all

http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3467.2

[Arthurgray50@blu]

Maybe someone can answer this question, we have TEXT on our remote control, why can't we use it, and also if we are watching a channel and it says, press the red button, ie like on Sky, why can't we use it. cheers, lads and lasses.

[Media Boy]

Five, ITV and Setanta have been awarded with the rights to the UEFA Cup from 2009 to 2012.-

UEFA Press Release: http://www.uefa.com/multimediafiles/...0_download.pdf

---------- Post added at 21:42 ---------- Previous post was at 21:41 ----------

- Five has secured the exclusive rights to the first choice live match in each match week, including the UEFA Cup Final.

- Five will also have a comprehensive highlights programme.

- Additional live matches will be broadcast by ITV4 and Setanta 1 and 2.

- Both also has the right to show highlights programmes.

[harmitage]

That's good news about the UEFA Cup. Well done again TV Boy.

If Rangers get to the final again will we get more comprehensive coverage of the rioting?

[Felim_Doyle]

Originally Posted by PeteTheMusicGuy

I guess they have those channels to make money out of them

Yes, it's a strange situation that the free-to-air channels actually cost VM to distribute so I guess their income comes from our subscription to the service, VoD and advertising on the channels they own or have partnerships in.

[Media Boy]

Keep up-to-date on upcoming channel launches and other important events across the two platforms of Virgin TV - week 22.2 update

Updated every Thursday before midday (on Cable Forum )

======== Freeviews on Virgin TV =======

Right Now
No Channels this on an FREEVIEW on Virgin this week...

======== Coming up on Virgin TV & Other news and Info =======

Date TBC:
Challenge Jackpot is to launch on Virgin Media Channel 154.

June:
24th. The full launch of NME Radio launches on Virgin Media Channel 975.
BBC iPlayer may launch on Virgin Media via their Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) sometime this week (June 2nd - 8th)

July:
STAR hope to launch both STAR One and maybe STAR Gold on Virgin Media by the 1st of July (NOTE: An deal have still to be signed so it may not happen.)

By Summer:
The Hits TV is to be rebranded to 4Music.

August:
An Virgin Media worker has started an rumoured that Virgin 1 HD is to launch this month.

September:
BBC Alba (BBC Craoladh nan Gaidheal) may launch on Virgin Media this month (only in Scotland).

Autumn:
An 'new look' UKTV Channel starts (TV Boy think it will be UKTV Gold that will be rename.)

Channels that will appear soon on Virgin Media (Been Confirmed by the Broadcaster, BARB or by Virgin Media.)
Nuts TV
Pop Girl
Channel 4 HD
JJB Sports TV - now testing on some NTL Boxes

Will happen before 2009:
Virgin plan to remove all the Ex-ntl or Ex-Telewest channels so that Virgin Viewers can have the same lineup.
SMG have sold 'Virgin Radio' to TIML Golden Square Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Times of India Group for £53 million and will spend a further £15 million on re-branding away from the Virgin name. The new station will be managed by Absolute Radio, owners of JACK fm and FM107.9 in Oxford, and a team comprising Media and Entertainment specialists from TIML. Part of the deal means the new owners will not be able to use the Virgin Radio brand because Richard Branson's group has a joint venture in India with the Hindustan Times group. They said the backers of Absolute’s bid would be in competition if they had internet rights to the brand. Virgin was concerned that having two Indian businesses with different relationships with Virgin Radio would be too confusing. However, RadioToday.co.uk understands TIML Golden Square Ltd have the option of continuing to use the Virgin Radio name in the UK, for a licence cost of a further £8million. TIML has 90 days from the completion of the sale to rebrand. (Info from Radio Today.com)
New look 4oD starts on Virgin Media.

The following channels are rumoured to be coming to Virgin TV this year.
The National Geographic Channel +1*
Motors TV*
BBC TV Local Channels*
The History Channel +1*
Playhouse Disney +
True Movies 2
AnimeCentral
Cartoonito
TCM2
ESPN Classic
Bubble Hits
Al Jazeera English
ARY QTV and The Musik
* = Maybe coming to Ex-Telewest due to Ex-ntl viewers having them right now.

Other news
NBC Universal-backed kids' broadcaster KidsCo is rumoured to be in discussions with Virgin Media looking to launch a linear TV channel on their platform.
Liberty Global (Zone Horror owners) 'would consider' buying Virgin Media's television channels, it has said.
ITV are rumoured to be in talks with Virgin Media over they ITV1 HD Channel coming to Virgin TV soon (We may get ITV on Demand, ITV2 +1 and ITV3 +1 as part of the deal).
Five are rumoured to be in talks with Virgin Media over they Five on Demand coming to Virgin TV soon (We may get Fiver +1 and Five US +1 as part of the deal).
NASN is to be rebranded in 2008.
Virgin are rumoured to be in talks with Sky over their Basic channels coming back.
Motors TV are says to be ''currently finalizing the renegotiation of they contract'' with Virgin Media.
No news in months: Film 24 and Chello Zone are both rumoured to be in talks with Virgin.

The list of Channels THAT Virgin Media have worked on this week

Channels renamed//Re-launch/Move EPG:
Q Radio has re-launch on Ex-ntl Channel 929.
Virgin1, Virgin+1, Living, Living+1, Living 2, Bravo, Bravo+1, Bravo 2, Challenge, Challenge +1, Trouble and Trouble+1 have all gone widescreen.
Euronews has re-launch on Virgin Channel 620.

New Channels added:
473. Television X (Ex-ntl only)
475. Playboy TV Nightly (Ex-ntl only)
477. The Adult Channel Nightly (Ex-ntl only)
478. Spice Extreme Nightly (Ex-ntl only)
480. Red Hot TV (Ex-ntl only)
484. Xplicit XXX Nightly (Ex-ntl only)
485. Gay TV Nightly (Ex-ntl only)
Test Transmission has started for NME Radio on Virgin Channel 975.

Channels removed from Virgin TV
No news this week...

New channels that are now testing on some Virgin Media boxes.
JJB Sports TV
Challenge Jackpot

======== Channels still to appear on Ex-Telewest =======

Virgin still have to sign deals for the following ex-NTL channels to appear on the ex-Telewest Network

EPG Channel Name
231. The National Geographic Channel +1
235. The History Channel +1
545. Motors TV
811. Zee Music
812. Alpha ETC Punjabi
833. Phoenix CNE
861. BBC One England
862. BBC One Scotland
863. BBC One Northern Ireland
864. BBC One Wales
865. BBC Two England
928. Radio: Magic
929. Radio: Q
930. Radio: BBC Radio Scotland
931. Radio: BBC Radio Wales
932. Radio: BBC Radio Ulster
934. Radio: BBC Radio nan Gaidheal
936. Radio: BBC Radio Cymru
962. Radio: The Hits
963. Radio: Kiss 100
964. Radio: Kerrang!
966. Radio: Smash Hits!

NOTE: EMap Radio channels: ( Magic, Q, The Hits, Kiss 100, Kerrang!, Smash Hits! ) have all been sold to H Bauer.

======== Virgin Media Electric! news =======

In this months ''Electric!' Virgin Media have make an list of channels that are on both networks but I noted the following Ex-ntl Radio channels in it.

EPG Channel name
929 Q Radio
935 Magic
962 The Hits
963 Kiss FM
964 Kerrang Radio
966 Smash Hits Radio

So it look to me like they are coming soon to Ex-Telewest.

======== Channels still to appear on Ex-ntl: =======

Virgin still have to sign deals for the following ex-Telewest channels to appear on the ex-
NTL Network

EPG Channel Name
830. Deutsche Welle TV
911. Radio: BBC Radio 4 LW
917. Radio: RTE Radio 1
920. Radio: WRN Europe
971. Radio: Deutsche Welle Radio

TV Boy Thinks: Virgin will keep Bauer Radio Channels, BBC TV and Radio Channels, Nat Geo +1, Motors TV, History channel +1 and ZEE channels and drop the rest.
I know that some radio channels are on Ex-Telewest in some parts of the UK and they will stay but will need to move all the BBC Radio channels that are only on NTL to new channels numbers so that all the Virgin Networks (Ex-ntl and Ex-Telewest) viewers can have them.

======= NON Virgin Media news =======

Digital UK Latest - last updated on the 1st of May 2008 at 11.30am
Transmitter news info:

November 2008
6th-20th. The Selkirk transmitter and its 11 relays, serving Scottish Borders starts switchover on 6 November 2008 and the process will be complete on 20 November 2008.

April 2009
8th & 22nd. The Beacon Hill transmitter group, serving Torbay and south Devon will switchover in two stages: stage one will be on April 8th and stage two on April 22nd 2009

May 2009
6 & 20th. The Stockland Hill transmitter group, serving Exeter, parts of Devon, Somerset and Dorset will switchover in two stages: stage one will be on May 6th and stage two May 20th 2009

April and June 2009
The Caldbeck transmitter and its 38 relays, serving Cumbria and South West Scotland switches between April and June 2009.
The Douglas transmitter area and its 9 relays, serving the Isle of Man switches between
April and June 2009.
The Kendal transmitter area and its 8 relays, serving the south lakes switches between April and June 2009.

July/September 2009
Preseli transmitter area, serving south-west Wales will be converted between July and September 2009.
Carmel transmitter area, serving south Wales, will be converted between July and September 2009.
Kilvey Hill transmitter area, serving the Swansea area, will be converted between July and September 2009.
The Huntshaw Cross transmitter group, serving north Devon will switchover between July and September 2009
The Redruth transmitter group, serving west Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly will switchover between July and September 2009
The Caradon Hill transmitter group, serving east Cornwall and Devon, including Plymouth will switchover between July and September 2009

October/December 2009
The Winter Hill transmitter area, serving the entire Granada region and its dependent relays will all be converted between October and December 2009.
Llanddona transmitter area, serving north-west Wales, including Anglesey will be converted between October and December 2009.
Moel-Y-Parc transmitter area and Storeton Wales, serving north-east Wales, will be converted between October and December 2009.
Long Mountain transmitter area, serving east-central Wales, will be converted between October and December 2009.

January/March 2010
Blaenplwyf transmitter, serving west and central Wales, will be converted between
January and March 2010.
Wenvoe transmitter, serving south-east Wales, including Cardiff, will be converted between January and March 2010.

TBC
Switchover will start in the West TV region in 2010.
Switchover will start in the STV North TV region in 2010.
Switchover will start in the STV Central TV region in 2010 and will finish in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Central TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Yorkshire TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Anglia TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the Meridian TV region in 2011.
Switchover will start in the London TV region in 2012
Switchover will start in the Tyne Tees TV region in 2012.
Switchover will start in the Ulster TV region in 2012.

WHY DO WE NEED TO SWITCHOVER?
Switchover is a complicated process, and needs to be done in stages so that everyone in the country will be ready for it.

The best way to check which TV region you are in is by seeing which ITV news service you receive or by going to Teletext page 106.

*The Channel Islands will be switching over to fully digital TV and this is currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2013. The actual dates for switchover in the Channel Islands are subject to negotiations with France.

Don’t worry; you'll get plenty of notice before services in your area are affected, and advice on what to do.

More info here: http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/when

Info from DigitalUK.

======== Virgin Analogue TV news =======

Virgin will be starting the Analogue switch off soon. They will also upgrade some currently analogue areas to digital.

Virgin Media has initiated a scheme to shutdown it’s analogue Cable TV network..
Currently, around 200,000 Virgin subscribers only have analogue TV.

Virgin has begun a program of area by area upgrades, but this is a long term program and at this point in time, it is unknown how many areas actually will get upgrades. It is also possible that Virgin will not upgrade everyone in some areas.

Some customers will actually be forced off the network, but Virgin claim this will be a small number.

Info from Cable Forum and Virgin Media.

======== TV Boy thanks =======

And now for me to say thanks to the following regular Virgin contributors of this thread who give me some of my Information - tell me if you want your name removed.
They are:- paul hadley, harmitage, grabbi, JG3870, Jasmeet, buba3d, sakiblateef and Bob.

---------- Post added at 08:30 ---------- Previous post was at 08:25 ----------

Here is an new pic for Challenge Jackpot (Thanks to Wiki)

[windy]

I thought the bbci player was getting its own EPG no this week..Can someone shed any light on to this.

[Media Boy]

Originally Posted by windy

I thought the bbci player was getting its own EPG no this week..Can someone shed any light on to this.

It was added to the On Demand part of the EPG last Friday and Virgin Media have no plans to give it an Channel number any time soon. I forgot to removed that info from my list - sorry.

I have now fix it for next week.

[windy]

Originally Posted by TV Boy

It was added to the On Demand part of the EPG last Friday and Virgin Media have no plans to give it an Channel number any time soon. I forgot to removed that info from my list - sorry.

I have now fix it for next week.

Thanks..

[Horizon]

I don't know if this has been mentioned on here on not recently, I'm not wading through pages of stuff to check....

At a recent media conference, Neil Berkett announced that the user interface (the EPG to you and me) will be upgraded at the end of the year, beginning of the next. This is primarily to add new functionality and specifically to make the VOD and interactive menus easier to navigate.

Also, the analogue tv shutdown will be completed by the end of next year. Bandwith freed up will be allocated for broadband.

With regards to the ongoing VM vs Sky tussles over the ITV issue, Berkett believes Ofcom should come up with a opinion later this year. If Ofcom find in VM's favour, then the matter will be referred to the Competition Commission who have the power to penalise Sky. Either way, that's a long way off and nothing will happen this year.

No mention was made of the court case.

With regards to Sky's channels coming back onto VM's platform, Berkett said the money is there to pay for Sky's channels for a year. But, Sky and VM still cannot agree a price for the carriage agreement. If a agreement cannot be made soon, Berkett said he will use the money elsewhere. Not looking good...

On HD, Berkett changed his tune a bit here and finally admitted the truth. He does believe HD is valuable...in the "future." But, the most valuable HD content (which I believe he means Sky's sports content) is unavailable to VM. (I believe that if VM did do a deal with Sky for their HD stuff, VM would aggressively market HD. As they don't have this content, they're not bothering. Valuable HD content is a key subscription driver, so it's understandable from Sky's point of view why they wish to keep this content for themselves.)

On the possible sale of VM, nothing will happen this year or anytime soon (if, at all). With the credit crunch, no one has the money to fund takeovers at the moment.

A brief mention was made of IPTV "sometime" in 2009.

Berkett strongly highlighted the benefits of VOD and high broadband speeds which competitors cannot currently do. Berkett mentioned the BBC/ITV Kangaroo service. I would not be surprised to see that launch on VM when that service to ready.

In the "near" future, more content will be added to VOD especially in the music section, and as already mentioned here, there will eventually be a playlist feature.

50% of VM cable customers should be able to access the 50mb service by the end of the year. Berkett emphasised that DOSCIS 3 is capable of far higher speeds.

That's about it.

[paul_hadley]

Thanks for the news.

[Media Boy]

PRICE CRASH TV news

As you may know Price Crash TV stop working last Friday night. I have found this on Shoppingtelly.com ( Date 30th of May ).

Shortly after 1am this morning Price Crash TV replaced it's infomercials with a 30 second loop giving information such as "Great products 24 hours a day", "UK based call centre", "Devivery within 5 -7 working days", "Extra 5% Loyalty Discount" and "Great Customer Service".

Extraordinary statements when No Products were being shown, Call Centre was on Answerphone and the option to buy via the website removed.

Lesley Jones, Financial Controller said: "As far as I am aware, the directors are currently looking to sell the channels."

So come on Virgin pull this channel off air and put an other channel on...

Info from Shopping telly.com

[grabbi]

Thanks for that Neptune.

Good to know the EPG is gonna have a nice, easier way to VoD.

The HD thing is a bitch. Think about it.

The capabilities of the V+ compared to the Sky HD Product is second to none. V+ offers so much more, and Sky arent going to want to lose subscribers and potential customers to Cable because of the offering of Sky Sports HD to V+, and given the superiority of the V+ Product. Not to mention the affordability!

[one2escape]

Originally Posted by grabbi

Thanks for that Neptune.

Good to know the EPG is gonna have a nice, easier way to VoD.

The HD thing is a bitch. Think about it.

The capabilities of the V+ compared to the Sky HD Product is second to none. V+ offers so much more, and Sky arent going to want to lose subscribers and potential customers to Cable because of the offering of Sky Sports HD to V+, and given the superiority of the V+ Product. Not to mention the affordability!

That is why they should become bossom buddys with Setanta and get there stuff in HD and not let Sky have it then come to a compromise

[paul_hadley]

Originally Posted by TV Boy

PRICE CRASH TV news

As you may know Price Crash TV stop working last Friday night. I have found this on Shoppingtelly.com ( Date 30th of May ).



So come on Virgin pull this channel off air and put an other channel on...

Info from Shopping telly.com

Yeah, get rid of that channel and give us something decent.