General : Virgin TV (2026)

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

So it is possible to search for individual programmes, but alternative showings have to be manually set up?

You just pick the one that applies and record it. I am talking about the search route, not the ‘press record’ from the guide route.

---------- Post added at 13:52 ---------- Previous post was at 13:50 ----------

Originally Posted by 1701-e

Not sure what your worry is.... I've just put EastEnders into search and I get options to record from BBC 1 BBC 2 and rte (Irish channel) . Search also gives me iPlayer option in results.

If I select record from BBC 1 and BBC 2, I get a warning about potential duplication but it accepts the requests.

It’s Richard’s worry, not mine! I see no problem at all with this.

[newapollo]

VM TV Users with V6, 360 and Stream/Flex boxes now have access to 2 additional Stingray music "channels" :- Greatest Hits UK and Total Hits UK via the Rakuten app (also available on most smart TV's, firesticks, rokus, ios and android devices).

I wouldn't be surprised if the 2 new music channels were added to the selection of F.A.S.T channels in the EPG on the horizon based set top boxes at some future point in time.


https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2026...across-europe/

[gunner45]

The question of FAST channels on the VM EPG deserves its own thread (for nerds like me). Although VM could add far more than the 40 it has, the decision to keep it limited is to both stop the EPG from becoming cluttered and to only do so when there is sufficient value, like curated quality of a carefully selected range of subjects from a few trusted providers. And FAST channels form part of multi-layer IPTV integration for some providers, e.g. VM also hosts on demand and the app for Rakuten TV. To me this makes far more sense than the hundreds of FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels where it's exhausting trying to find something to watch.

Back to the Stingray channels: I think they are very likely to appear on the EPG as Stingray is a trusted partner which already supplies VM with multiple FAST channels. VM will always find space for on its EPG for someone like Stingray.

[vincerooney]

I assume it’s cheaper to launch fast channels but couldn’t they just make them normal channels…. They own the service I don’t see how it could be so much more expensive

Again I am completely ignorant tho haha

[Legendkiller2k]

Originally Posted by vincerooney

I assume it’s cheaper to launch fast channels but couldn’t they just make them normal channels…. They own the service I don’t see how it could be so much more expensive

Again I am completely ignorant tho haha

Traditional UK broadcast networks are governed by the Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA) (no not the coffee lol), which limits public service broadcasters to an average of 7 minutes of ads per hour and other commercial stations to 9 minutes per hour.
Because FAST channels (like those found on Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and LG Channels, VMs FAST channels) operate entirely over the internet and do not sit on traditional regulated electronic programme guides (EPGs), they bypass these broadcast limits completely.
Although VM do add these channels to their EPG i believe? The ofcom advertising rules still do not apply to those channels yet.
FAST channels fall into a legal loophole because they are neither traditional linear TV nor standard on-demand catalogs. As a result, they can air as many minutes of advertising per hour as their operators choose, which sometimes results in a much higher frequency or repetition of ads compared to public broadcast TV.
Content vs. Advertising Rules: While the UK Government passed the Media Act 2024 to bring major streaming platforms (like Netflix and Disney+) under Ofcom’s remit for content standards (such as protection of minors and accuracy), it primarily focuses on video-on-demand content rather than internet-based linear ad networks.
Evolving EPG Regulation: The government has advanced a multi-stage plan to begin regulating internet-delivered EPGs and connected TV portals. However, the initial phases focus on content protections, accessibility standards (like subtitling), and prominence rules rather than restricting ad-break minutage to match broadcast TV.
So in a nutshell it's cheaper for them to be a FAST channel rather than traditional broadcast channel.

[vincerooney]

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k

Traditional UK broadcast networks are governed by the Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA) (no not the coffee lol), which limits public service broadcasters to an average of 7 minutes of ads per hour and other commercial stations to 9 minutes per hour.
Because FAST channels (like those found on Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, and LG Channels, VMs FAST channels) operate entirely over the internet and do not sit on traditional regulated electronic programme guides (EPGs), they bypass these broadcast limits completely.
Although VM do add these channels to their EPG i believe? The ofcom advertising rules still do not apply to those channels yet.
FAST channels fall into a legal loophole because they are neither traditional linear TV nor standard on-demand catalogs. As a result, they can air as many minutes of advertising per hour as their operators choose, which sometimes results in a much higher frequency or repetition of ads compared to public broadcast TV.
Content vs. Advertising Rules: While the UK Government passed the Media Act 2024 to bring major streaming platforms (like Netflix and Disney+) under Ofcom’s remit for content standards (such as protection of minors and accuracy), it primarily focuses on video-on-demand content rather than internet-based linear ad networks.
Evolving EPG Regulation: The government has advanced a multi-stage plan to begin regulating internet-delivered EPGs and connected TV portals. However, the initial phases focus on content protections, accessibility standards (like subtitling), and prominence rules rather than restricting ad-break minutage to match broadcast TV.
So in a nutshell it's cheaper for them to be a FAST channel rather than traditional broadcast channel.

cheers mate thats helpful and actually makes sense!

[nomadking]

Considering US TV programmes that fill a 60 minute slot are around 42/43 minutes long, that's a big gap to fill.

[ozsat]

ITV not much different. Coronation Street episodes with no ads run for 22 minutes on ITVX (except the odd one reaches 23 minutes) - hour long programmes never exceed 46 minutes.

A two hour drama on ITVX will run for 90 minutes.

Originally Posted by nomadking

Considering US TV programmes that fill a 60 minute slot are around 42/43 minutes long, that's a big gap to fill.

[Carth]

TV is mainly a platform used for influencing people with adverts, nothing has really changed apart from the length of the advert break . . which as I recall used to be around 2 minutes

[RichardCoulter]

Apparently, the end date for Sky History 2 is 29/9/26.

[TimeLord2018]

To clarify Sky History 2 rebrands as MysteryX on 29th September