Virgin Media is once again giving all its TV customers free access to 14 premium South Asian channels, this time for the whole of July, to mark South Asian Heritage Month.
The channels are normally part of Virgin Media’s Asian Mela bundle, which costs £12 a month. For July, though, they’ll be available to every Virgin TV customer at no extra cost – a full month of drama, reality, comedy and Bollywood blockbusters in HD.
If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Virgin ran almost exactly the same promotion last summer, opening the same 14 channels for free.
The timing has shifted this year, though – South Asian Heritage Month has moved from its old 18 July to 17 August slot to a simpler 1 to 31 July window, and Virgin’s free month has moved along with it, running until July 31.
What’s On This July
The line-up leans heavily on popular drama and reality series. Fans of South Asian TV will find long-running favourites like Anupama and O Humnava Tum Dena Sath Mera on Utsav Plus HD, the daredevil reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi on Colors HD, and Tumm Se Tumm Tak and Vasudha on Zee TV HD.
Over on Sony TV HD there’s a run of big family entertainment, including India’s Best Dancer, Indian Idol, the quiz favourite Kaun Banega Crorepati (India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) and the political drama Maharani.
Film fans get a couple of themed seasons to dig into. There’s a celebration of 25 years of Aamir Khan hits, with the wrestling drama Dangal on Utsav Gold HD, plus the Oscar-nominated Lagaan and the more recent sports comedy-drama Sitaare Zameen Par on Sony Max HD.
And with Shah Rukh Khan‘s new film KING heading to cinemas, Zee Cinema HD is running a special season of his movies alongside Date With SRK, with more classics showing on B4U Movies.
How Do I Get The Free Channels?
There’s nothing to sign up for and nobody to call. The channels are added automatically to every Virgin Media TV customer’s set-top box, whatever package you’re on, and they’ll simply appear in your TV guide.
They’ll stay there until July 31, at which point they go back to being part of the paid Asian Mela bundle.
A Bit Of Background
Virgin Media is primarily a broadband provider, and its TV service sits on top of that. Its boxes – the cable-connected TV 360, which can record, and the newer broadband-only Stream box (which is now the primary, default box) – are only available to Virgin broadband customers, with TV bundles layered on afterwards.
Opening up premium channels for free every so often is something Virgin does from time to time, and it fits the way the company likes to describe itself: less a traditional broadcaster, more a curator that brings together the best of what everyone else makes.
That same thinking is why Virgin has been steadily expanding its free, ad-supported streaming channels (the sort you’ll sometimes see called FAST channels).
Full List Of Free Channels
Here’s the complete list of Asian Mela channels available to all Virgin Media TV customers until July 31:
- 801: Utsav Gold HD
- 802: Utsav Bharat
- 803: Utsav Plus HD
- 805: Sony TV HD
- 806: Sony Max HD
- 808: Sony Max 2
- 809: Zee TV HD
- 810: Zee Cinema HD
- 811: Zee Punjabi HD
- 815: B4U Movies
- 825: Colors Gujarati
- 826: Colors HD
- 827: Colors Rishtey
- 828: Colors Cineplex
A spokesperson at Virgin Media O2 said: “South Asian Heritage Month is a meaningful time for families and communities to come together, and we’re proud to help our customers celebrate by offering access to 14 premium Asian TV channels at no extra cost.
“With a fantastic mix of much-loved dramas, entertainment shows and blockbuster films, there’s something for everyone to enjoy throughout the month.”
More New Channels On Virgin
Speaking of Virgin’s growing free channel line-up, there have been a couple of other additions worth a mention.
Recently, Virgin added two new FAST channels built around a pair of much-loved British formats – 8 Out of 10 Cats on Channel 250 and Pointless on Channel 251.
Both are free, run around the clock, and are available to TV 360 and Stream customers straight from the set-top box. Operated by Banijay Rights, they join the 37 or so streaming channels Virgin already offers, such as U&Transport, British Screen Classics and Inside Crime.
Virgin says it plans to keep adding more throughout 2026.
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