Virgin Media has unveiled another significant upgrade to its Stream service, enhancing its offering by adding over 100 Freeview channels that were missing from the broadband-based box so far.
Among these are the NOW music channels, offering a range of musical genres, and Channel 4 and ITV’s +1 channels, which provide viewers with more flexibility in their viewing schedule.
The Great! network, including Great! Romance, Movies, and Action channels bring a variety of film and television content to the table, while Talking Pictures offers a selection of classic films and television shows (see the list of channels below).
The addition of these channels aims to address the feedback from customers seeking a more comprehensive range of viewing options directly through their Stream box – without the need for an aerial, and at no extra cost.
Virgin Media Stream’s New Features And Channels
Virgin Media has two main TV offers for its broadband customers: The “old-school” TV platform, TV360, offers access to 190 channels and up to three mini 360 boxes around the home if you want to watch in extra rooms.
Most of TV360’s live Freeview channels, however, require an aerial, as they are broadcast over-the-air.
Virgin Media Stream (see our review), available to both new and existing customers who subscribe to Virgin Media’s broadband, is a streaming-based TV platform with apps, Freeview-via-broadband (so no aerial is needed) and catch-up libraries.
Virgin Media’s Stream box is available with no monthly costs or any long-term contracts, except for a one-time activation fee of £35 – but it’s only available for Virgin Media’s broadband customers (unlike the similar Sky Stream, which is available to everyone).
Once you get the Virgin Media Stream box, you can pick and choose the paid channels and services you want, with rolling 30-day contracts, and a 10% ‘cashback’ on top every month (with some of the content subscriptions).
If you just stay with the Freeview channels – there are no monthly fees for the Stream box at all (which is also the case with regular Freeview boxes – but, again, in this case you don’t need an aerial, which is a plus for those with bad reception in their home).
However, Stream’s library of channels was quite limited (compared to aerial-based boxes like the TV360 or Freeview set-top boxes), and many popular Freeview channels were missing from the streaming version.
But this month, Virgin Media TV customers who have embraced the Stream box will find their viewing options considerably broadened, with the addition of over 100 channels, including a variety of HD and +1 options.
As we previously reported, the new update also brought with it several new features and updates to Stream.
One of the key features of this update is the expansion of the ‘My Watchlist’ functionality, allowing customers to aggregate their favourite content from various sources into a single, easily accessible location.
Previously, you could only add upcoming shows to your watchlist – but now, you can add any programme, including those that have already aired through Catch Up.
This feature supports content from both streaming services and linear channels, enabling viewers to curate a full, personalised watchlist.
Sky’s Red Button Comes To Stream
For Stream sports enthusiasts who subscribe to Sky Sports, the update brings an improved red button functionality.
For the first time, Stream customers with Sky Sports will benefit from HD match selection and in-game recap clips for football and F1.
Additionally, access to the latest news and highlight clips will be available, enhancing the sports viewing experience.
David Bouchier, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “With over 100 channels now available on Stream as well as the enhancement of My Watchlist and improved red button access, our customers can enjoy even more live sport and entertainment all in one place – at no extra cost.”
Virgin Media Stream’s New Channels:
The addition of over 100 channels includes an array of popular choices – including some, from Freeview, that were sorely missed until now.
All the new channels should already be available on all Stream devices (at no extra cost). The list includes:
Music / Entertainment Channels:
- NOW 70s
- NOW 80s
- NOW ROCK
- That’s 60s
- B4U Music
+1 Channels:
- ITV1 +1
- Channel 4 +1
- Channel 5+1
- E4 +1
- ITV2 +1
- Drama +1
- ITV3 +1
- ITV4 +1
- ITVBe +1
- 5 USA +1
- W +1
- 5STAR +1
- Dave ja vu
- YESTERDAY +1
- Quest +1
- More 4 +1
- True Crime +1
- Legend Xtra+1
- HGTV +1
- Film4 +1
Movie Channels:
- GREAT! Romance
- GREAT! Movies
- GREAT! Action
- Film4 HD
- Talking Pictures
Sports Channels:
- Sky Sports Racing HD
News Channels:
- BBC NEWS HD
- Sky News
- GB News
- BBC Parliament HD
- Talk TV
- Bloomberg HD
- CNBC
- NBC News Now
- Euronews
- NDTV 24×7
- Al Jazeera English
- Al Jazeera Arabic
- France 24 English HD
- NHK World-Japan
Kids Channels:
- Kids TV On Demand
- CBBC HD
- CBeebies HD
- POP
- Tiny Pop
Shopping Channels:
- QVC
- QVC Beauty
- QVC Style
- QVC Extra
- Create & Craft
- Gems TV
- TJC HD
Religious Channels:
- Islam Channel English
- Islam Channel Urdu
Local / Regional Channels:
- BBC One OOR HD
- BBC ONE London HD
- BBC ONE Scotland HD
- BBC ONE NI HD
- BBC ONE Wales HD
- BBC TWO HD
- BBC RB 1 HD
- ITV1 OOR HD
- ITV1 Meridian HD
- RTE One
- RTE Two
- TG4
Adult Channels:
- Adult Previews
- Babenation
- Meet The Babes
These channels were added to Virgin Media Stream’s existing channel list.
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I really don’t understand why this can’t be offered to existing TiVo/360 users and have the same channel packages.
The Sky Sports UHD channels are on it aswell now I believe.
The Sky Sports UHD bolt on is showing on the stream checkout page