BSkyB Set To Strike New Deal With Virgin Media

BSkyB is hopeful of a deal that will see its five basic-tier channels return to Virgin Media from the start of next year.

In March 2007, Sky One, Sky Sports News, Sky News, Sky Arts and Sky Real Lives were taken off Virgin Media’s cable service, following a dispute over costs.

The row over how much Virgin was prepared to pay Sky for the channels ended up with Virgin taking BSkyB to court.

However, both companies have recently confirmed that they are “in ongoing conversations” to reach an agreement.

A Sky spokesperson said: “We remain keen to agree a carriage deal with Virgin Media but it needs to be a fair price that reflects our investment in the channels.”

During the first three months of 2008, Sky’s revenues from customers watching its channels on rival pay-TV platforms fell by £26 million compared with the same period last year.

The absence of the Sky channels also had an impact on Virgin Media’s pay-TV subscriber growth.

Virgin Media: www.virginmedia.com Sky: 08702 40 40 40 www.sky.com