Virgin Media multi-play offers services by cable AND phone

[Bob Crabtree]

Yesterday's formal re-naming of cable company ntl:Telewest to Virgin Media coincided with its introduction of (more accurately, the ability to place orders for) 10 bundles of services, up to and including some true quad-play packages.

Significantly, the company will be greatly extending its reach by providing BT-based phone, broadband and TV services in areas where there is no cable.

Read this HEXUS.lifestyle.headline and tell us if the new packages and pricing are clear enough and compelling enough - even when combined with all the promises that the Virgin brand holds out - to make you want to switch.

[roadie]

The barstewards have gotten rid of the £17.99 a month for 12 month offer on 4 meg broadband dammit!

[kalniel]

No need to switch - I'm already with them (and have to say, very happy with the service).

[BUFF]

"The top bods at the high-table said that the TV list would include two channels not available on Freeview - Sky One and the popular UK TV Gold."

apparently there's a chance that SKY One may not be available on NTL/Telewest/Virgin for much longer anyway - iirc the contract is up shortly.

& tbh Virgin Internet (that NTL already owned) have been doing ADSL broadband for ages & iirc handled it for AOL UK too) so that's hardly news & I for 1 actually found NTL's packages easier to understand.
Somebody please tell me the difference between bundle 2 & Plan 3 on http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html.../noncable.html - they're both the same cost pm but 1 has far less so why you would ever choose that ....

[Bob Crabtree]

"The top bods at the high-table said that the TV list would include two channels not available on Freeview - Sky One and the popular UK TV Gold."

apparently there's a chance that SKY One may not be available on NTL/Telewest/Virgin for much longer anyway - iirc the contract is up shortly.

I'd be surprised if the two parties didn't come to some agreement, not least because Sky knows that it needs the channels that Virgin Media owns or part owns.

But if that turned out to be the case, that could explain the further point in the news story about UK TV Gold not being shown on the list of free channels and the PR people saying that this was as it should be cos UK TV Gold is not included.

By all that I mean - if they have to lose Sky One from the list they may then replace it with UK TV Gold, which would be a fair trade off.

Of course, it could just be that they'll lose Sky One and not replace it with UK TV Gold but I think the fact that UK TV Gold was mentioned (even if in error on the day) is still going to turn out to be significant.

& tbh Virgin Internet (that NTL already owned) have been doing ADSL broadband for ages & iirc handled it for AOL UK too) so that's hardly news

No, really it is news - not because the offering is new (which as you point out it is not) but because the new company is offering all of this in one place and, therefore, can cover it all under one advertising and promotional thrust.

You would be right to say, though, that the news story should have - somewhere - pointed out the situation with the pre-existing broadband offering from Virgin.

& I for 1 actually found NTL's packages easier to understand.

Clearly, that's not something I can argue with but what I can say is that when I wrote the precursor to this news piece I had spent a long time crawling over the ntl site and came away thoroughly confused.

Somebody please tell me the difference between bundle 2 & Plan 3 on http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html.../noncable.html - they're both the same cost pm but 1 has far less so why you would ever choose that ....

Er, this is called "marketing" - they're highlighting the fact that broadband alone is NOT good value, cos they want you to take up the phone service too, and get hooked that way.

This is very similar to to the anomaly that I pointed out in the original news story about the contrast in what you get between Bundle 1 and Plan 2.

Logically, no one is going to opt for Plan 3 or Plan 2 - they'll opt for the better-value with-phone bundles, and that's precisely what the company wants.