Virgin Media blow as TV customers switch off

VIRGIN Media has seen the number of people using its broadband and mobile service rise, but it has recorded a further decline in its television business.

The company has posted quarterly figures showing an increase of almost 9,000 people using its broadband services. In all, it now has 372,000 broadband customers. It has also reported 50,000 mobile phone customers for a service it started under two years ago.

However, Virgin saw a further decline in its television customer base, losing 12,000 TV subscribers over the last 12 months.

It now has under 300,000 television customers (292,700) for the first time in many years, under half the number of TV subscribers aligned to arch-rival Sky.

The company recently announced that it would rebrand TV3 as Virgin Media Television later this year.

Executives at the firm recently indicated that they have little interest in acquiring iD Mobile, the struggling mobile operator put up for sale by Dixons Carphone.

Virgin is eyeing high-speed broadband expansion that could take it to almost a million Irish homes over the next three years.

Executives at the firm – which mostly operates in cities – said they want to extend its network into regional towns.

It is also predicting a doubling of broadband speeds on its network to around 1,000Mbs within the next four years, which make it competitive with new fibre networks being planned by rival firms.