Virgin Media’s new Stream TV box, which lets you watch streaming services, Freeview channels and premium sports via broadband – is now included with some of the company’s broadband plans at no extra cost.
Hot on the heels of the release of Sky’s standalone – and similarly named – Sky Stream box this week, Virgin Media was quick to lower the cost of its own streaming box, while emphasizing monthly price differences between the two.
And indeed, comparing the pricing of TV services on these two competing boxes – Virgin Media comes out cheaper (see full details below), especially in the sports arena, where BT Sport and even Sky’s own Sky Sports plans are cheaper on Virgin Media’s Stream than on Sky’s Stream.
As for the box itself – normally it carries a one-time activation fee of £35, but Virgin Media is foregoing that fee for all broadband packages above 200Mbps (the original announcement mentioned 350Mbps – but it seems they lowered it to 200Mbps, at least as of this writing).
November Update: Virgin Media is boosting its M100 and M200 broadband packages, to M120 and M250.
What Is Virgin Media’s Stream Box?
Unlike Virgin Media’s traditional TV boxes (like the TV 360), Stream is based on broadband. Therefore all of its content – from streaming services like Netflix and Freeview channels like BBC, ITV and the rest – are delivered via the internet.
Virgin Media’s Stream box offers a long list of Freeview channels (though not all of them are available) – and since they’re streamed to you over broadband, there’s no need for an aerial.
It’s important to remember that the Stream box can’t record – instead, it uses the broadcasters’ streaming apps (like BBC iPlayer and All4), as well as Virgin Media’s own catch-up library – to let you stream content on-demand.
Virgin Media’s Stream box is available with no monthly costs or any long-term contracts, except for the one-time activation fee of £35.
As mentioned, if you take a Virgin Media broadband plan of 200Mbps and up – you won’t pay the activation fee.
It’s worth mentioning that over the past few months, I’ve heard from people who were able to get Stream without the activation fee even on lower broadband speeds – so you can always try to haggle.
Once you get the box, you pick and choose the paid channels and services you want, with rolling 30-day contracts, and a 10% ‘cashback’ on top every month.
The Stream box also supports a variety of streaming apps and services, like Netflix and Disney+, as well as premium paid TV services like BT Sport and Sky’s entertainment channels.
Normally, if you add some of the streaming subscriptions via your Virgin Media bill, you’ll get a 10% credit back – but customers who sign up to BT Sport, Sky Sport or Sky Cinema at the discounted prices currently available, will not be eligible to that credit on top.
In any case, if you just stay with the Freeview channels – there are no monthly fees 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).
The main downside of Virgin Media’s Stream, is that it only works with Virgin Media’s broadband – which does carry with it a long-term contract.
This is different from Sky’s Stream box, which is compatible with broadband from any of the UK providers.
Last week, Virgin Media also lowered the pricing on its Social Tariff offer, which is aimed at people on benefits.
Virgin Media Stream VS Sky Stream
To “celebrate” the launch of Sky Stream, Virgin Media is not only foregoing the activation fee on their own Stream box – but also offering several premium TV add-ons at a discounted price, for the duration of your Virgin Media broadband contract.
BT Sport, which costs £30/month to add to Sky Stream, is currently only £10/month on Virgin Media’s Stream.
Sky Sports costs £25/month with an 18-months contract on Sky Stream, and £18.75/month on Virgin Media.
Sky Cinema costs £11/month on Sky (with an 18-months contract), and £10/month on Virgin Media.
Keep in mind that since these are promotional prices, they will go back up to their normal rates once your 18-months contract with Virgin Media is up.
For more on Virgin Media’s Stream box, see our in-depth review of it.
The streaming boxes are out of stock for at least 4 months
I just got Stream for £15 delivery/setup fee. I’m on the 350 speed broadband. So far so good. I’ve had to do this because Sky Glass TVs only seem to like Sky Broadband, which is weird.
It’s a shame that Liberty global/ Virgin Media is only offering this streaming service to Virgin cabled areas only and not nationally with any other broadband service provider, unlike sky Stream. Hopfully Virgin Media will realise there marketing mistake and eventually roll-out their streaming service nationally to cabled and non cabled areas.
For the time being I will stick with Sky stream.
Virgin Media broadband is hardly the most reliable so expect to loose phone, internet and now even TV.
Personally, I have been using phone, fibre and TV (V360 box) from Virgin Media for about 6 years. For about 10 years previously I had the same services from Sky. While I’ve found the company support and comms to be terrible compared to Sky, I’ve found the service reliability much the same. The only two outages I suffered (one for each supplier) were both down to 3rd party mess-ups (axe through cable type stuff) rather than anything the suppliers could control.
In this respect, I’m not quite sure why a Stream Box introduces new risks that the previous Virgin boxes didn’t. Underground cable is just underground cable, whether its carrying Internet or video.
The amount of time virgin broadband fails,goes down I would not bother ,shocking service even worse customer services dept ,well I think that’s what they are called.
I’ve been with virgin media since the first of October and would like to ask what have I missed out on?? I would love some extra channels free but I would like the NEW STREAMING BOX PLEASE
Virgin refused to give me a stream.
I am on 350 and they won’t give you one if you already have a TiVo box.
Misleading to the extreme. I’m a VM customer on a 200+ plan and they will only send a stream Box if I switch to a plan coating twice as much. There is no such thing as a free Lunch!