Virgin subscribers offered penalty-free exit

by Ian Quinn, Media Week 02-Mar-07, 14:22

LONDON - Disgruntled subscribers to Virgin Media's digital TV service have until the end of the month to leave without penalty, the broadcaster announced today.

However the company maintains that the withdrawal of Sky's basic channels does not breach its contract with customers.

Virgin has welcomed the intervention of the National Consumer Council in the ongoing row with Sky, which saw channels such as Sky One disappear from the screens of 3.3m cable viewers this week.

The removal of Sky's basic package from cable households has been accompanied by claim and counterclaim from both parties, with the cable viewer stuck in the middle.

Sky yesterday launched an outdoor campaign urging Virgin customers to switch to its platform, whereas Virgin has attacked the quality of Sky's channels in on-screen campaigns.

The NCC yesterday said the dispute has exposed "fundamental flaws" in the UK pay TV market and called on Virgin to clarify whether viewers would be penalized if they cancelled their subscription.

Today a statement from Virgin said: "We strongly agree with the NCC -- there are flaws in the UK pay TV market which are harming the interests of consumers and an investigation is warranted."