Under pressure cablenet Virgin Media has said that it expects second quarter subscriber growth to be “roughly flat”. The operator’s statement revises the previous guidance on May 9 that predicted a fall in subscriber numbers following the withdrawal of Sky’s basic channels from the platform.
Virgin is still anticipating a fall in subscriber numbers both on TV, and significantly telephony, in the second quarter, but is predicting a return to positive growth in the second half of 2007.
Sky One, Sky News and Sky Sports News remain absent from Virgin, but the cablenet says its mitigating actions are beginning to pay off. It also says that customer recognition of its video on demand content and the appeal of the Virgin brand are beginning to take effect.
