Virgin Media customers who still use the original TiVo boxes are facing yet another feature loss – and this time it’s a big one.
The company has begun sending emails to affected customers warning that “from July 23, BBC iPlayer will no longer be supported” on these legacy devices.
This isn’t the first time these TiVo boxes – which have been around for more than 10 years – have gradually lost features, but losing BBC iPlayer is particularly significant for many users who rely on the popular streaming service.
Virgin Media Offering Free TV360 Upgrades
There’s good news, however – as affected users are also being notified that their TV box can get a free update.
A Virgin Media spokesperson confirmed to Cord Busters that the “small proportion” of customers still using these old boxes (that are now more than 10 years old) are being offered an upgrade to the TV360 box at no extra cost.
The silver lining for affected customers is that nothing else will change regarding their current prices or bundles – though as always, things could change once it’s time for them to renew their contract.
It’s worth noting that the TV360 box is the only available upgrade – customers can’t ask to switch to the V6 box, which is still supported and features the familiar TiVo interface.
Similarly, these users can’t switch to Virgin Media’s Stream box, which is on a separate payment bundle (now called Flex).
Virgin Media’s Hardware Evolution
Virgin Media first partnered with TiVo back in 2009, bringing TiVo’s smart interface to Virgin’s set-top boxes.
The original TiVo boxes launched in 2011 and quickly became popular with customers. They offered much more than basic TV viewing – recording capabilities, on-demand content, and the ability to pause live TV when life interrupted your viewing.
Over time, Virgin updated their hardware lineup with the V6 box, which still used TiVo technology but added 4K support and more tuners for recording multiple shows at once.
As we reported in March, Virgin Media has been busy revamping their hardware offerings. They’ve been quietly replacing TV 360 Mini boxes with Stream boxes for multi-room setups.
This latest move with the original TiVo boxes seems to be part of the same strategy to modernise and consolidate their hardware portfolio.
Why Are TiVo Boxes Losing BBC iPlayer?
While Virgin Media hasn’t provided specific technical details about why BBC iPlayer support is ending on TiVo boxes, it’s likely related to changes in the BBC iPlayer platform that the older hardware can no longer support.
I’ve also been hearing from some Virgin Media users that when their V6 boxes develop faults, VM tends to replace those with TV360 boxes – suggesting that TiVo is potentially on its way out from Virgin Media entirely, with the original TiVo box first, and perhaps the V6 boxes following over the coming years.
A Common Issue With Streaming Apps
This isn’t unique to Virgin Media. The loss of streaming app support on older hardware is becoming increasingly common across different platforms.
For example, Humax’s once-popular HDR-2000T Freeview recorder lost BBC iPlayer support in November 2023 due to unresolved technical issues. Despite efforts by both the BBC and Humax to rectify these problems, a solution remained elusive.
Similarly, several popular Freeview and Freesat boxes lost support for ITV Hub (now ITVX) in 2023.
These situations highlight an ongoing challenge for consumers using older tech – as streaming platforms update their content protection technology and infrastructure, older devices often become incompatible.
What Should Affected Customers Do?
If you’re a Virgin Media customer with an original TiVo box, you should look out for communication from the company about the free upgrade offer. The cutoff date of July 23rd is approaching quickly, so it’s worth being proactive if you haven’t received any information yet.
As of now, customers don’t HAVE to upgrade – so, if you have no need for BBC iPlayer (or if you can watch it on another device – such as your Smart TV) – you can continue to use your old TiVo Box. However, over time, it is likely to lose additional features.
The TV360 box offers a number of improvements over the original TiVo, including a more modern interface, better performance, and continued support for BBC iPlayer and other streaming apps – but it has a very different interface.
You should also remember that if you switch from the TiVo box to the TV360, you will lose all your existing recordings – there’s no way to transfer the recordings from one box to the other.
For TiVo users who’ve relied on their boxes for years (and are used to how they work), these changes might be frustrating – but the free upgrade offer ensures they’ll keep access to BBC iPlayer without extra cost.
For more updates about Virgin Media and other TV services, Subscribe to our free newsletter.
I find BBCiPlayeran essential in recording, or juggling, programming on a nightly basis. Hopefully there will be alternatives that can still allow this.
I have just jipned Virgin yesterday 12/7/25 does this affect me. ??
Do I need to do anything so zi still get bbc catch up ??
If you’ve just joined then you will receive the Stream box. VM stopped supplying the obsolete tivo box to new customers around 3 or 4 years ago
I asked Virgin Media for the free upgrade which they said I had to do myself when the remotes arrived. I asked were they free and again they said yes, but you have to pay £5 delivery. So it isn’t free is it !!!
They should have advised about a possible delivery charge. Have a chat with CS via either the community forums or facebook or twitter (X) and claim it back
The drawbacks that you also need a Virgin Media Broadband package. Without that they will not be able to supply/support the new box.
tivo only customers that have service faults have has their tivo swapped out for a V6 box and broadband hub with a basic broadband connection that only works with the V6 box. This is similar to that experienced by the landline only customers in the digital switchover.
The hubs are restricted in that the customer isn’t be able to surf the internet etc, but it does allow the V6 box to receive firmware and EPG updates. It will also allow the customer to use the V6 apps and catch up services, FAST channels (and the Sky Sports+ service if they subscribe to Sky Sports)
Although tivo customers are finding that the TV360 box is the only available upgrade and that they can’t ask to switch to the V6 box, there is currently a possible workaround. Should the tivo box ‘develop a fault’ then it will be replaced with a V6 box.