Virgin Media is treating millions of its loyal customers to a television upgrade — adding 11 new channels to their set-top boxes overnight at no extra cost. These free channels arrive with a variety of shows, including classic British comedies, shocking true crime stories, and historical documentaries.
All 11 channels will be available to watch on Virgin TV 360, Virgin Stream, and Virgin TV V6 set-top boxes.
The arrival of this new batch has bolstered Virgin Media's selection of so-called FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television) channels, which are beamed over a Wi-Fi or ethernet connection. There's no subscription fee required to tune into these channels, which are supported by ad breaks.
Some of the new FAST channels now available to watch on all Virgin Media-branded set-top boxes are from Dave parent company UKTV, which launched four new FAST channels last summer
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All 11 channels offer 24/7 access to binge-worthy shows and comfort series like Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Catfish, Flipping Bangers: Deal Masters, CSI: New York as well as fan-favourite concerts like Mariah Carey – The Adventures of Mimi.
The full list of new channels coming to all Virgin Media TV hardware is:
The last four channels come courtesy of Dave parent company UKTV, which debuted its new FAST offering at the end of last year. UKTV Play Heroes is designed to allow viewers to join frontline medics and police to showcase inspiring stories of heroism in shows like Emma Willis: Delivering Babies, Inside the Ambulance, 999: Rescue Squad, Special Ops: Crime Squad, Cop Car Workshop, Inside the Operating Theatre, Nurses Down Under and The Shift: Women on the Force.
As the name suggests, UKTV Play Laughs wants to cater to comedy fans with shows starring some of the biggest names in UK comedy with shows like Hypothetical, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, Judge Romesh and Comedians Giving Lectures available to stream at no cost.
UKTV Play Full Throttle takes viewers to the skies, the tracks or the road, with shows including Bangers & Cash, Architecture the Railways Built, Warbird Workshop, Secrets of the Railways, Train Truckers, Impossible Railways, Secrets of the London Underground, and Modern Wheels or Classic Steals.
Last up, UKTV Play Uncovered focuses on documentaries to explore the extraordinary, from the battlefield to the home front, ancient monoliths to modern myths, with the likes of Abandoned Engineering, Forbidden History, World War 2 From Above, War Factories, History Hunters, and Secret Nazi Bases.
The new additions from UKTV, A+E Networks, and other FAST providers bundled in the latest free upgrade to millions of Virgin Media customers across the UK can be found on the Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) on your box.
Speaking about the new additions, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media O2, David Bouchier said: “The introduction of these fantastic new streaming channels demonstrates our ambition to continue enhancing our entertainment offering, giving our customers even more choice and 24/7 access to their favourite shows.
“Having launched 30 streaming channels in the last year alone, we are constantly striving to offer our customers even more entertainment, providing them with easy access to shows we know they’ll love, at no extra cost.”
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More FAST channels could be coming to Virgin Media TV viewers in the coming months. The company has promised to "evolve its FAST channel offering, adding more fantastic channels that will provide customers with even greater choice, at no extra cost."
