Virgin Media’s four million pay-TV subscribers could be about to lose access to ITV’s most popular programmes, just days after another dispute saw its customers lose UKTV channels.
The cable provider has refused to comment on a report in the Guardian on Thursday which said a dispute between Virgin Media and ITV was nearing a weekend ultimatum over issues, including the prominence of its shows.
The broadcaster, famed for hits like Coronation Street and Love Island, has said it will withdraw channels should an agreement not be reached, sources told the newspaper.
ITV declined to comment but did not dispute the accuracy of the Guardian’s report. A source told HuffPost UK that dialogue between the broadcaster and Virgin was “positive and constructive”.
Virgin Media, meanwhile, said: “We continue to have constructive discussions with ITV. All ITV channels remain live on Virgin TV and we have no intention of removing them.”
The reported spat comes just days after Virgin customers lost access to UKTV channels, including comedy favourite Dave and Gold, in a separate row over pricing and on-demand services.
In that dispute, Virgin and UKTV embarked on a remarkable war of words as both brands attempted to harness customer support in the battle as Virgin faced a backlash on social media.
ITV issued the threat of removing its channels from Virgin’s platform last year but held off to await the arrival of a new chief executive, Carolyn McCall.
McCall said this week that the firm plans to take on digital rivals like Netflix.