Ofcom calls on Virgin and UKTV to end impasse

OFCOM has urged Virgin Media and the broadcaster UKTV to make peace after a row over fees cut off 10 channels in nearly four million homes over the weekend.

The media watchdog warned that it was “concerned” for consumers after channels including Dave, Gold and W were cut off.

It added: “If customers are unhappy with a change to their service, they should raise concerns with Virgin Media in the first instance.”

It was not immediately clear whether the loss of some of Britain’s most popular channels would give customers grounds to cancel their contract with the cable operator. It has replaced UKTV’S channels with other services.

Virgin Media has blamed the row on the “dinosaur” BBC, which owns half of UKTV and provides most of its programming.

The corporation does not allow UKTV to provide its programmes on demand, however, and is in talks with rival broadcasters to launch a separate subscription streaming service to challenge Netflix. Virgin Media fears that it will effectively be asked to pay twice to carry archive BBC programmes. The cable operator, owned by Us-listed giant Liberty Global, has also complained that UKTV refuses to provide its popular free-toair channels unless it pays for pay-tv channels that attract smaller audiences.

UKTV said that Virgin Media had demanded a “drastic” price cut that it could not accept. It is understood that the row, which has simmered for weeks, caught Ofcom off-guard when it boiled over on Friday.