Fed up with Virgin TV .. want to chenge

WLM21

I've had Virgin TV for a very long time, since 'Blueyonder Days. In fact I see it is over 20 years .. i got it the day before England were playing football and Paul Ince played with a bloodied head.

Anyway, I hardly ever watch live TV .. usually just being content to watch YouTube.

It's so long now I don't think the aerial even works .. anyway there's no wire in the lounge, so it must have been removed.

Will an 'Amazon Fire Stick' let us watch 'terrestrial TV if I cancel my Virgin contract ?

If not, will I have to get a new aerial fitted ?

I'll keep the broadband package, but that will be all I have. I never even use the house phone, so unless this comes as a 'non-optional' thing, I'll get rid of that too. In the past, you had to pay line rental whether you really wanted it or not

debitcardmayhem

I read somewhere that freeview is going to be on t’net , found this but can’t read it at the mo https://www.everyonetv.co.uk/news/press-release/new-free-tv-service-via-ip

Rodders53

Some TV channels stream their live versions...  BBC in particular and Channel 4.  A Firestick or similar would allow you to experiment and discover what can be done before cancelling Virgin TV.

The new streaming Freeview offering will be in new TVs starting with Hisense with no announced plans for addon boxes etc.,.  However devices like Fire sticks may be more likely to seek to work with Everyone TV (DigitalUK as was) to provide the same?

NB Virgin Internet only is also an expensive offering and other providers may be worth a look in your locality?

Alderbank

Rodders53 said:

The new streaming Freeview offering will be in new TVs starting with Hisense with no announced plans for addon boxes etc.,.  However devices like Fire sticks may be more likely to seek to work with Everyone TV (DigitalUK as was) to provide the same?

Everyone TV (formerly Digital UK) is owned and supported by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. You probably know it better by its brand names – Freeview and Freesat. 

The new service (Freely) will also be part of Everyone TV. It won't be a streaming Freeview service. So far, all they have said is that is will appear sometime in 2024, it won't be available on current devices such as Firestick, set-top boxes or smart TVs and it will initially only be available on certain new Hisense TVs. 

Desmond_Hume

I’ve got a Roku stick (just prefer it). What you’re asking is exactly what I do. If I wanted terrestrial TV, I’d just stream it through the channels app (I don’t actually do this though, no tv licence). 

All my viewing is either on Netflix, Apple TV, NowTV (OD movies) or YouTube. Done this for years now. Absolutely do not miss terrestrial TV. 

facade

See if they are installing the fibre lines to the telegraph poles near you. If so, you can change to someone like BT for fibre broadband on its own, and they usually pay upto £300 of your Virgin disconnection fee.

(If you are still in contract with Virgin, Virgin charge the remainder of the contract, less a miniscule discount as the disconnection fee)

I changed this year, after Virgin went for an astronomical mid contract price rise.

Turns out if you have a Virgin phone line, they cannot transfer the number, so I ditched the landline.

I never watched the Virgin TV, and I so rarely watch Freeview that I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my TV licence and giving up all live TV.

One thing to watch out for is a heavy "discount" making the broadband cheaper. The mid-contract price rise is a large % of the pre-discount price, so you get a massive rise come April. What you want is one where the base price is cheap in the first place.

victor2

facade said:

See if they are installing the fibre lines to the telegraph poles near you. If so, you can change to someone like BT for fibre broadband on its own, and they usually pay upto £300 of your Virgin disconnection fee.

(If you are still in contract with Virgin, Virgin charge the remainder of the contract, less a miniscule discount as the disconnection fee)

I changed this year, after Virgin went for an astronomical mid contract price rise.

Turns out if you have a Virgin phone line, they cannot transfer the number, so I ditched the landline.

I never watched the Virgin TV, and I so rarely watch Freeview that I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my TV licence and giving up all live TV.

One thing to watch out for is a heavy "discount" making the broadband cheaper. The mid-contract price rise is a large % of the pre-discount price, so you get a massive rise come April. What you want is one where the base price is cheap in the first place.

In my "negotiations" with Virgin, i.e. giving notice, I have been told by them I can transfer my number out. One potential new supplier also said it should be possible and if they couldn't get the number, they'd cancel the install at no cost to me.

Might well be looking again when the April increase hits, as it will be a very large percentage of my current discounted monthly cost. You can't seem to get away from the annual in-contract increases on broadband these days. Some might say it's a cartel.

samal

"Turns out if you have a Virgin phone line, they cannot transfer the number,"

Hi, that's not true, I moved from VM to Community Fibre and had the number moved on the agreed date, no issue

facade

samal said:

"Turns out if you have a Virgin phone line, they cannot transfer the number,"

Hi, that's not true, I moved from VM to Community Fibre and had the number moved on the agreed date, no issue

Well BT couldn't transfer mine around August, it was a Virgin 82xxxx number.

It made the decision for me, as no-one would know a "new" number anyway, and it is a VOIP line, which is exactly what my mobile does anyway (WiFi calling).

I could either connect my DECT phone direct to the router or plug the base station into it, but it costs a fair amount of money to duplicate a service I already have.

Grumpy_chap

WLM21 said:

I've had Virgin TV for a very long time, since 'Blueyonder Days. In fact I see it is over 20 years .. i got it the day before England were playing football and Paul Ince played with a bloodied head.

Anyway, I hardly ever watch live TV .. usually just being content to watch YouTube.

It's so long now I don't think the aerial even works .. anyway there's no wire in the lounge, so it must have been removed.

Will an 'Amazon Fire Stick' let us watch 'terrestrial TV if I cancel my Virgin contract ?

If not, will I have to get a new aerial fitted ?

I'll keep the broadband package, but that will be all I have. I never even use the house phone, so unless this comes as a 'non-optional' thing, I'll get rid of that too. In the past, you had to pay line rental whether you really wanted it or not

What are you currently paying for Virgin broadband (inc phone?) plus TV package?
What are you expecting to pay for a future package without the TV included?

I have often found that Virgin offer a cheaper package price if you take phone, broadband and TV than if you just take broadband.  That sounds illogical, but it is worth checking that you will be saving money by ditching the TV part of the package.  If you won't save, you might as well stay as you are and avoid the need to fix the aerial or use a Fire Stick / ROKU / similar.

facade

Grumpy_chap said:

WLM21 said:

I've had Virgin TV for a very long time, since 'Blueyonder Days. In fact I see it is over 20 years .. i got it the day before England were playing football and Paul Ince played with a bloodied head.

Anyway, I hardly ever watch live TV .. usually just being content to watch YouTube.

It's so long now I don't think the aerial even works .. anyway there's no wire in the lounge, so it must have been removed.

Will an 'Amazon Fire Stick' let us watch 'terrestrial TV if I cancel my Virgin contract ?

If not, will I have to get a new aerial fitted ?

I'll keep the broadband package, but that will be all I have. I never even use the house phone, so unless this comes as a 'non-optional' thing, I'll get rid of that too. In the past, you had to pay line rental whether you really wanted it or not

What are you currently paying for Virgin broadband (inc phone?) plus TV package?
What are you expecting to pay for a future package without the TV included?

I have often found that Virgin offer a cheaper package price if you take phone, broadband and TV than if you just take broadband.  That sounds illogical, but it is worth checking that you will be saving money by ditching the TV part of the package.  If you won't save, you might as well stay as you are and avoid the need to fix the aerial or use a Fire Stick / ROKU / similar.

It isn't illogical, it is a Big Moneymaker for them, because it traps you into the horrendous mid-contract price rises*.

It costs them virtually nothing, but keeps you on their books paying out, and they can sting you big time in April.

Say you actually only want broadband that a competitor can do for £30.

Virgin offer the same broadband, a fabulous TV package and a phone, which is normally £100, but give you a £65 discount, so it is only £35 for loads more (just look at the extra value for only £5 more...).

Come April they increase the price of the £100 package by £20, but they don't increase the £65 discount, and you are suddenly paying £55 for the rest of the 18 month contract.

* Now this is something to look at that is unfair to consumers, not only can they have a mid-contract rise now, because you have to agree to it when you take out the contract, but it is (inflation plus more profit for us %). And all telecoms providers do it.