Virgin Media has quietly made a big change to its TV streaming service this week. The broadband-based Stream service, launched two years ago, is being rebranded as “Flex”, along with some updates.
Most notably, new customers will now face a £5 monthly fee for the basic service, which includes Freeview channels and was previously free with a Virgin Media broadband subscription.
This change brings Virgin Media’s broadband-based TV service more in line with competitors like Sky Stream and TalkTalk (which also charges £5 for its basic TV service).
Furthermore, some premium TV content add-ons have seen price increases in recent months – which new customers will now need to face alongside the new monthly fee.
The Birth of Virgin Media Stream
Back in April 2022, Virgin Media introduced Stream as a fresh approach to their TV services. The idea was simple: offer a way to watch Freeview channels, and premium ones, over broadband – without the need for a traditional aerial.
For a one-time activation fee, customers got a compact streaming box that also provided access to popular apps and the option to add premium TV packages.
Stream was also an answer to Sky’s new (at the time) broadband-based services – first the Sky Glass TV, and then the Sky Stream box (which launched AFTER Virgin Media’s stream box).
One of Virgin Media Stream’s main selling points was its lack of ongoing fees for basic Freeview access. Users could enjoy over 150 channels (Freeview, along with a long list of ad-supported channels), without any monthly charges beyond their Virgin Media broadband subscription.
Premium (paid) content was available through flexible 30-day contracts, allowing customers to add or remove packages as they pleased, such as Sky Cinema, TNT Sports and others.
Stream is only available to Virgin Media broadband customers, however, setting it apart from competitors like Sky Stream, which doesn’t require a specific broadband provider.
What’s Changing with Flex?
This week, Virgin Media quietly introduced a major change – as Stream became Flex. Well, sort of – Virgin Media says the device itself is still called the Stream Box – but the service that goes along with it (TV via broadband) is now known as Flex.
The rebrand to Flex brings more than just a new name, however: the most significant change is the introduction of a monthly fee for new customers.
Those signing up for Flex will now pay £5 per month for the basic service, which includes the Stream Box (on loan), access to over 150 channels via broadband (mostly Freeview and other free ad-supported streaming channels), as well as on-demand and catch-up content libraries.
The one-time activation fee is also still in place but has been reduced to £10 as of this writing, though this could change in the future.
The flexible nature of the service remains intact, with Flex maintaining its 30-day rolling contract for TV services.
This means customers can still cancel at any time, though it’s important to remember that this flexibility doesn’t extend to the underlying Virgin Media broadband contract.
For existing customers, Virgin Media tells us that existing subscribers with Stream will not be impacted by this change beyond the name being updated on their bills (just keep in mind that this may change in the future – especially when renewing contracts).
Also, as before, existing TV 360 customers will not be able to switch to Flex/Stream.
Premium Content Gets Pricier
Along with these core changes, it appears Virgin Media has also significantly increased prices for some of its premium add-ons in recent months.
For instance, Sky Cinema HD now costs £24.99/month, a substantial increase from its previous price (especially during special sales), and notably higher than the £9.99/month charged by Sky’s NOW for the Cinema Membership (and that’s before discounts, which are regularly available).
Sky Sports HD has also seen a price hike, jumping to £34.99 per month. Technically, it’s the same price you would get on Sky’s NOW – but they regularly run offers that take it down considerably.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the new pricing for the optional content add-ons (as of this writing) –
- Sky Cinema HD: £24.99/month
- Sky Sports HD: £34.99/month
- Essential Entertainment (includes several premium channels from Sky and others, but NOT Sky Atlantic): £15/month
- Sky Sports HD + Sky Cinema HD bundle: £49.99/month
- Sky Sports Ultra HD (add-on to Sky Sports): £7/month
- TNT Sports: £18/month
- Premier Sports: £15.99/month
- Kids Pick: £5/month
Netflix Options
Virgin Media also lets you sign up for Netflix (and Disney+) via its billing system – and use the Netflix app on the Stream Box.
One quirk of Virgin Media and Flex is that they don’t offer Netflix’s “Standard with Ads” plan. Your options are, therefore, the Standard (HD) plan at £10.99/month or the Premium (4K) plan at £17.99/month.
The Bottom Line
With Sky slowly moving away from satellite and towards streaming, it’s safe to assume Virgin Media would slowly switch to broadband-based solutions as well (instead of their previous cable TV solutions).
And indeed, with the introduction of Flex, Virgin Media’s basic broadband+TV bundle is now only available with the Stream Box, instead of TV 360.
However, it seems the days of totally free Freeview-over-broadband services are behind us (at least until Freely starts streaming a large selection of channels, and not just the major broadcasters).
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Who can even afford to pay £25/month for films? How many do you need to watch to justify the cost? I dumped virgin a year ago for a new broadband provider in our area (toob) and a freesat box. Why pay £60/year to view free broadcasts 🙄
What will end up happening to Virgin’s cable network over time? Will it just be abandoned, left to rot?
Well, Virgin Stream/Flex is delivered over a Virgin broadband connection which, for the moment, is in the vast majority of cases delivered over the HFC cable network. If course, in the long term this will presumably transition to FTTP (full fibre) but that’s still a fair way off for most Virgin customers.
So £5 a month for everything you get for free on a smart TV 🤷♂️
The days of free Freeview are not over if you have a Humax box with an indoor antenna. Why is anyone still bothering with broadband providers?
The days of free Freeview over broadband (which is still necessary for those who have bad aerial reception)
I don’t know how many people in UK have a really bad aerial connection but I suspect it is minimal in comparison with bad and slow broadband connection and lacking a fibre connection even with big players like Virgin. The streaming marketing argument is particularly unrealistic for households with several streamers trying to stream on different platforms. Refurbished Freeview pvr desktops are still available on secondary market for around £100.
According to USwitch, 99% of UK population has access to broadband of 10Mbps or higher.(https://www.uswitch.com/broadband/studies/broadband-access-statistics/)
According to the BBC, DTT (Freeview) covers 98.5% of the UK population. (https://www.radioandtvhelp.co.uk/help-guides/television/what-is-a-freeview-multiplex)
Even for those within the 98.5% coverage, it’s OK if an indoor antenna works ok, or you have access to a suitable external antenna, but there’s a substantial subset of people, particularly in new build and refurbished flats, where this is no longer the case. Antenna systems cost money and developers/freeholders don’t tend to include or maintain them any more, because people are inclined to use Smart TVs and Wifi anyway. Sometimes it also means they can put TVs wherever they want and not be tied to a specific location with an antenna connection or suitable indoor reception.
Being part of the 1% club can often come with unique challenges, and for me, it means living in a city where access to quality television options is frustratingly limited. Despite my best efforts to secure a reliable television signal, I’ve found myself unable to receive Freeview, the go-to free digital TV service. I’ve tried just about everything—experimenting with different antennas and even hiring a professional to assess my situation—but the concrete jungle seems to conspire against me. The struggle doesn’t end there; my landlord has strict rules that prohibit satellite dishes, which means options like Sky are completely off the table. The appeal of alternatives like Sky Stream and Virgin is dampened by the cost, as my budget simply doesn’t allow for such luxuries. So here I am, caught in a technological limbo, yearning for a simple solution to enjoy the wide world of entertainment while navigating the limitations imposed by my urban living situation.