Sky favourite to pick up Virgin TV business
By Julian Clover
February 15, 2010 11.16 UK
Virgin Media is said to be close to a sale of its channels business to BSkyB, following many months of negotiations.
The Guardian reported on Monday that deals concerning the sale both of Virgin’s wholly owned channels, including Virgin 1 and Living, and the UKTV business jointly owned with BBC Worldwide were very much on the cards. The sale would effectively spell the end of UK cable’s ambitions in the content sector and would leave Virgin to concentrate on its role as the delivery mechanism.
A spokesperson for Virgin Media told Broadband TV News that the company would not comment on speculation.
Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch has previously indicated his company’s interest in the Virgin Channels. Their acquisition would provide key EPG real estate, both on its own satellite platform and Freeview, where Virgin 1 holds valuable channel capacity.