Why choose Virgin Media TV?
Virgin Media has always been the main contender to Sky's crown as the premier TV subscription provider, offering a TV bundle packed with channels and an array of optional extras. Let's take a closer look at some of the unique features that make Virgin Media TV a desirable choice.
- Simplified, flexible TV packages with optional extras
- Access to the fastest broadband in the UK
- Virgin 360 box is one of the best in the business
- Watch 4K and HD content at no extra cost
- Watch on mobile and tablet with Virgin TV Go App
- Add BT Sport, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema
- Get Virgin Box Sets and Movies on demand
- Quickstart self-install available
Simplified, flexible TV packages with optional extras
After many years of offering various bundles with complicated names, Virgin Media has now slimmed things down by offering essentially one TV package – the Big Bundle. Virgin no longer offers customers the option of having its TV without also taking Virgin broadband too, but there is plenty of flexibility available within that limitation.
The Big Bundle comes with over 100 free-to-air channels and M50 fibre broadband, as well as a phone line with free weekend calls, although you can choose to have a package without a phone line if you wish. If you want more than the basic free-to-air channels and 54Mbps broadband, you can add extra speed or extra channels if you wish – choose up to 1000Mbps and a range of channel packs, including BT Sport, Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, Kids TV, Asian Mela and more.
Alternatively. you can choose to plump for one of the pre-packed Bundles, such as the Bigger Bundle + Movies, which comes with faster broadband and the Sky Cinema channels. and then adapt it further if you want to, with faster broadband or extra channel packs.
Virgin also offers its Volt bundles, which, in addition to TV, broadband and phone, also come with a choice of O2 SIM deals, giving you the full telecoms package in what’s known in the industry as “quad-play”. Its Ultimate Volt bundle comes with every possible channel available, as well as Gig1 broadband (1000Mbps), free landline and mobile calls anytime and an unlimited data O2 SIM.
Access to the fastest broadband in the UK
Virgin Media offers by far the fastest, most reliable broadband in the UK with top speeds of 1000Mbps and over. In fact, it's so good we wrote an entire guide about why it's the best there is. Although the likes of Sky and BT now offer much faster download speeds than they used to (up to 500Mbps and 900Mbps respectively), they are not as widely available as Virgin’s high speeds.
Virgin offers 54Mbps as standard with its Big Bundle TV package, but you can choose to upgrade to a faster speed if you wish and pay an extra monthly premium.
Virgin 360 Box is one of the best in the business
Virgin's 360 TV box is a serious rival to the Sky Q box, and, justifiably, has received rave reviews since it was launched. So, what's so special about it? Well, it's free for a start for all Virgin Media TV customers. It has a huge 1TB of storage capacity, which caters for up to 500 hours of recordings for SD programmes and 100 hours for HD.
The 360 box comes with a new remote that has voice search and control functionality, meaning not only can you use voice commands to search for programmes, you can also use it to pause, forward and rewind whatever you are watching. Virgin’s new TV guide is easy to navigate, and every member of your household can set up their own profile, which means no one needs to lose their place in their favourite TV series.
Watch 4K content at no extra cost
Virgin's 360 box is also 4K-ready so you can watch 4K content on it right from the off provided you also have a 4K TV. Subscribers of BT Sport Ultimate in particular will benefit from this. All customers however, can enjoy watching 4K content available through other apps, including Netflix and YouTube.
Watch on mobile and tablet with Virgin TV Go App
The Virgin TV Go app comes free with every Virgin Media TV package. You can use it on iOS or Android phones and tablets as well as on any laptop or computer. It offers complete access to more than 100 TV channels (according to your subscription), both live or on catch-up, including BT Sport, Comedy Central, Sky Max and Sky Witness, and even allows you to download programmes to your device while you're at home or on wi-fi so you can watch them when you're out and about.
You can install Virgin TV Go on up to five devices and watch it on any two devices simultaneously.
Add BT Sport, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema
UK competition laws mean that if Sky and BT have exclusive rights to premium sport, they have to make it available to competitors. That means you can choose to bolt on both Sky Sports and BT Sport to your Virgin TV package, for an increased monthly cost. Alternatively, you can choose one of Virgin’s pre-packed bundles, such as the Bigger Bundle + Sport.
Happily Sky also offers its Cinema channels to non-Sky subscribers. Virgin Media TV customers can either choose to add this onto their basic TV bundle as an extra or select one of Virgin’s pre-made bundles, such as the Bigger Bundle + Movies.
Get Virgin Box Sets and Movies on demand
Virgin TV doesn't have its own dedicated premium movie channels. It does have Film 4 and TCM, along with the one that shows made-for-TV melodramas all day, but if you want full-time movie channels showing newer films, you'll need to subscribe to add Sky Cinema to your package.
If, on the other hand, you just want to watch the odd thing here and there, Virgin Box Sets and Movies allows you to rent new releases for 48 hours for similar money to what you'd pay on Amazon Prime, or used to pay at Blockbuster.
Add Asian channels
Unlike Sky or BT, Virgin Media is unique in offering 15 Asian TV channels, including Zee TV, Colors Rishtey, Utsav Bharat, Sony Max and NDTV, providing a complete package of top Asian news, Indian serials and Bollywood classics.
Quickstart self-install available
So, you've got all the details you need, decided on which package is right for you, and you're ready to make that purchase. Once that's done, all you need to do is make an appointment for an engineer to come out and hook up your new box. Well, perhaps not. There is, possibly, a way you can install your new hardware yourself.
First of all, if you're moving away from Sky, don't worry about the dish because you won't need that whilst you're a customer with Virgin Media. Second, if your home's been connected to the Virgin network at any time over the previous three years, you can set everything up without the need for an engineer with Virgin's Quickstart self-install pack.
Everything you need can be ordered through 'click and collect' from your local Virgin Media store or it can be sent directly to your home, for a small delivery fee, along with a simple step-by-step guide for you to follow and you can set it all up yourself with no engineer required.