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Virgin Media has flipped a switch and unlocked paid-for television channels for millions of subscribers across the UK. Throughout August, anybody with a Virgin TV 360, Virgin Stream, or the older Virgin TV V6 set-top box plugged in at home will be able to watch Premier Sports at no extra cost.
Premier Sports 1 HD and Premier Sports 2 HD are available in the TV Guide on channels 551 and 552, respectively.
The service usually costs £12.99 per month and offers access to a wide variety of sports fixtures, including La Liga football, Motorsport, MMA, Scottish Premiership football, Premier Sports Cup football, and more.
Virgin Media TV 360 set-top boxes are the default for new TV subscribers
VIRGIN MEDIA PRESS OFFICE
If you haven't heard of Premier Sports before ...you're not alone. The sport-focused channels only recently returned to TV Guides after an earlier incarnation, known as Viaplay Sports, vanished from screens in January 2024.
Packages with TV start from £33 per month, with access to some 100 channels with the 4K-compatible Virgin TV 360 box and a full-fibre broadband connection. Virgin Media's network of superfast broadband is available in 16 million homes and businesses across the UK.
Unlike the best Sky Stream deals, you'll need to take out a full-fibre broadband contract with Virgin Media to be able to watch its premium television offering.
Speaking about the decision to launch the new paid-for channels for all television customers at no cost, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media O2, David Bouchier said: “Throughout August, we’re offering our customers even more value with the addition of free access to Premier Sports.
"Our customers can extend the summer of sport with football, rugby, motorsport and more, including upcoming games such as Real Madrid v Chelsea, Rangers v St Johnstone, Celtic v Hibernian and Dundee FC v Hearts."
Any Virgin Media TV viewers who want to continue watching Premier Sports after the free period comes to an end on August 31 will be able to do so from their set-top box. Head to the Apps menu on your Virgin TV 360, Virgin Stream, or TV V6 box, locate the Premier Sports streamer, and then subscribe to one of the monthly plans. Virgin Media's Stream box — the most recent addition to the line-up — can pocket 10% cashback on the monthly subscription fee for Premier Sports, as well as Netflix, Disney+, and all other streamers bought from the box.
This isn't the first time that Virgin Media has treated its subscribers to a free telly channel.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
At the end of last year, Virgin Media has added a brand-new channel dedicated to Christmas to all customers’ TVs — for free. Known as Love Christmas, the imaginatively-titled new channel was designed to play Christmas movies on repeat until December 27.
If you want to watch more sport fixtures than what's available on Premier Sports, you might want to take a look at the latest deals from Sky.
Sky is currently promising its "lowest ever price" for a bundle with its Sky Stream box, Sky Sports and Sky Entertainment bundle of channels, and a Netflix Standard with Ads subscription. It drops from £52 to £43 per month — saving a total of £216.
