UKTV channels return on Virgin Media

UKTV and Virgin Media have reached a compromise after a dispute over carriage fees, which had lasted three weeks.

UKTV channels including Dave, Gold, W, Alibi, Eden, amongst 10 services, that had disappeared due to a fall out with the cable platform. Virgin had previously refused to pay the “inflated” fees and complained that it was no

As part of the deal, Virgin Media has added more HD programming to its mix bundle, including Dave HD and Gold HD, as well as five times the amount of on-demand programming.

Virgin Media’s Chief Digital Entertainment Officer, David Bouchier, said in a statement, “Reaching this agreement reaffirms our longstanding partnership with UKTV and is fantastic news for our customers. We are sorry for what we know has been a frustrating time for our customers, but are pleased that our TV bundles are now even bigger. Our unwavering commitment to investing in incredible programming remains.”

In a statement on Twitter, UKTV said, “For the past three weeks, we’ve read thousands of viewers’ messages and replied to as many as we could. Overwhelmingly, we heard that viewers wanted UKTV and Virgin Media to agree a deal that would return our channels as quickly as we could.

“The most important people are the millions of loyal viewers who love our channels and enjoy our shows, and we’re sorry it’s taken both companies this long, and has caused disruption to so many people. No broadcaster wants to be off air so we’re thrilled to be returning to Virgin Media and would like to thank everyone who has supported us.”