Profile - Virgin's Wall ready for battle with Sky

proposition" - quad-play, or as Bran-son prefers, "four-play" - in a
blaze of red across newspapers and TV.

The launch - a rebrand of the merged NTL/Telewest and Virgin Mobile -
garnered even more headlines when its fiercest competitor, Sky, indulged
in what some might euphemistically call mud-slinging.

The Murdoch-owned giant not only scuppered Virgin's chances of a tie-up
with ITV by beating it to a stake in the broadcaster, but also launched
an advertising campaign urging cable customers to encourage Virgin Media
to carry Sky channels, at the same time threatening to pull the channels
from the cable firm.

But, for all its efforts, there is little sign Sky's fighting talk is
getting to Malcolm Wall, Virgin Media's supremely slick chief executive
of content. Chatting at Virgin's Great Portland Street headquarters, the
television veteran seems in high spirits, dismissing the saga with:
"All's fair in love and war."

A perhaps surprisingly sanguine response from a man clearly not afraid
of an argument. As IDS sales chief James Wildman observes of his boss:
"Malcolm is extremely pugnacious - he loves a good scrap."

But, adds Wildman: "He's a great boss - high challenge/high support, no
bullshit, focused but with humour, and he even occasionally lets his old
sales leanings show. He's also hugely ambitious for this business, which
is very motivating."

Compelling proposition

Indeed, Wall is eager to show off the new and improved electronic
programme guide, which launches as part of Virgin Central today (20
February), demonstrating how it will allow viewers to summon up a
warbling Beyonce with a flick of his wrist. "It's a fantastic EPG, even
if I say so myself," he says modestly.

The navigating tool is a key part of what Wall repeatedly refers to as
"a compelling proposition" which wraps together a television and
broadband service with fixed-line and mobile telephony.

Wall's role is to provide the content not only for the classic Flextech
channels such as Living and Bravo on linear TV, but also across
broadband, mobile and its real jewel in the crown - video-on-demand.

His latest triumph is signing up high-draw HBO shows such as The
Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Entourage, which is all part of taking
Virgin's library of 2,700 hours of programming up to 6,000 this
year.

"The role of content in Virgin Media is critical," says Wall. "At
Telewest, content was very much ring-fenced. We have brought it into the
heart of the overall business."

His piggy bank has been topped up to allow him to secure that content -
and not just on TV.

"When we look to acquire rights from studios, the perfect template is to
get VOD, but also broadband and mobile," he says.

"We will include some advertising experience in this - we're doing a
full review of the relationships we have with advertisers and the
platforms we've got. James (Wildman) is driving that with the broadband,
mobile and VOD teams."

Competitive edge

TV, however, and VOD in particular, remains the crucial offering - for
the time being, at least. Cable may traditionally have been the poor
relation of satellite but, argues Wall, its "fat pipes" are what will
give Virgin Media the edge in an increasingly competitive market, which
now sees Freeview and BT Vision muscling in on the action.

"We've taken a pipe that some people have seen as a negative and made it
a phenomenal virtue," he says, referring to its capacity to store the
much-vaunted 6,000 hours of content. "We have a wonderful opportunity in
having a network we can use as the backbone for a new generation
experience."

Another advantage, of course, is Virgin's strength as a brand. Blighted
by a history of bad customer service, NTL/Telewest had an uphill
struggle to turn itself around - and the Virgin name can only help.

Wall observes: "Its values are incredible in terms of how long it's been
around and how it's spread itself across a number of different sectors -
it's a challenger brand, it's fun, it's a consumer's champion."

But, he stresses: "We have to live up to it. A new colour and name
doesn't solve all our challenges instantly. This is a critical time for
any platform business in the UK."

Indeed, increasing consumer control is putting the squeeze on the
so-called experts to provide something unique. And that, says Wall, is
where Virgin comes in.

"A lot of the time consumers know what they want, but they all want and
need their trusted aggregator. Our challenge is to provide compelling
content from a trusted aggregator with real ease of use," he says.

Let the battle commence.

CV

2006: Chief executive of content NTL/Telewest, becoming Virgin Media

2001: Chief operating officer United Broadcast Media

1996: Chief executive United Broadcast & Entertainment

1994: Managing director Anglia Television

1992: Deputy chief executive Meridien Broadcasting

1988: Sales and marketing director Granada Television

1980: Anglia Television

1978: Graduate trainee, Southern Television.