Virgin TV agree deal with ITV to retain access to its channels

The deal will come as a relief to Virgin's 4million customers who lost UKTV channels like Gold and Dave last weekend.

The broadcaster were set to remove all their channels from Virgin Media's selection as soon as this weekend, causing uproar among subscribers.

The threat to remove channels came ahead of the hotly awaited Love Island final.

Why was there a dispute?

Allegedly, the broadcaster made it clear in writing that it would remove its channels from Virgin TV as soon as this weekend, unless an agreement between the two parties was reached.

As reported by The Guardian, sources confirmed that a letter was sent to Virgin, containing the threat that ITV could remove its channels if a deal is not signed.

The dispute was one that has been brewing for a while, with ITV having previously threatened to pull its channels from Virgin late last year.

It would appear as if UKTV's removal of its channels last week prompted ITV to pile on the pressure. Virgin TV customers face further channel losses after more disputes 

What are they arguing about?

Virgin and ITV reportedly disagreed over the carrying of the broadcaster's channels and video-on-demand rights.

ITV were also keen on a guarantee that its programming would be given some prominence on the streaming service, as the popularity of rivals like Netflix and Amazon Prime continue to grow.

Which channels were at risk?

It was unclear if ITV's main channel would be allowed to leave the service, even in the event of a '˜no deal' situation.

As a public service channel, under broadcasting regulations it must be supplied to rivals.

But channels such as ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and their high-definition counterparts were potentially facing the chop on Virgin TV.

A Virgin Media spokesman told The Guardian: 'All ITV channels remain live on Virgin TV and we have no intention of removing them.'

What about UKTV's channels? In the UKTV/Virgin Media saga, it appears as if no progress has been made regarding whether customers will see those lost channels back again.

Popular channels '“ including Dave, Gold, and Drama '“ remain removed from Virgin TV, meaning shows such as Taskmaster are unavailable.