Virgin Media to auction off the best slots on its TV guide

[denphone]

The cable operator Virgin Media is plotting a shake-up of the pay-TV industry by auctioning off rights to some of the best slots in its channel menu to the highest bidder.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...lots-tv-guide/

[Mr K]

Originally Posted by denphone

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/...lots-tv-guide/

Is nothing sacred !? Do VM customers get a cut if they watch the right 'sponsored' channel ?

I'll stick to my paper Radio Times rather than their cruddy TV guide, its quicker to access.

[Inactive Digital]

The article states it's for vacant slots only - its been a while since i had Virgin TV, but apart from 106 I can think of any in the entertainment section, and only a handful in the music section (old on demand slates). So unless Virgin are planning a reshuffle, I'd imagine that this is posturing ahead of potential negotiations with ITV regarding retransmission fees.
I.e., if you want to be paid retransmission fees, you'll need to bid for slot 103.

[v0id]

I thought 101 - 105 were only allowed to be for the 5 main channels?

[Kushan]

I've given up trying to memorise channel numbers, they move around more frequently than I watch TV.

I think the whole channel number system is rather archaic anyway and more a symptom of how slow/useless the guide design actually is than anything else. Sky is just as guilty of this.