Virgin Media subscribers in the UK will need to get used to new channel numbers from Tuesday 4th July, with over 80 channels moving places on the channel list.
Services affected by the renumbering include Alibi, Animal Planet, Discovery, Drama, Quest, Sky History and GREAT! tv, with channel operators UKTV and Warner Bros Discovery among those benefiting from a boost in their channel ranking.
- The changes apply across Virgin Media’s various TV receivers.
- Virgin Media O2 is grouping entertainment, factual and lifestyle channels together in the first 100 channels. Space created in the 200-279 range prepares the ground for new streaming channels. Music channels move to the 280-300 channel range.
- Timeshift entertainment, factual and lifestyle channels will find a new home in the 300s. The new listing will mimic Sky’s method of grouping the +1 channels. For example, Channel 5 is on 105, Channel 5+1 is on 305. However, timeshift channels are not listed on Virgin Media Stream.
- Beyond channel 400, there’s no major changes to listings. TCM Movies on channel 415 and its +1 on channel 416 are closing after 6th July, as part of the channel’s complete withdrawal from the UK.
The good news is that these Virgin Media channel changes will not affect series links. Virgin Media TV boxes will automatically update shortly after midnight on 4th July.
▶ List of Virgin Media channel changes
The following list only shows channels that are moving. Variations in Scotland and Wales may apply.
| New number from 4/7/2023 | Old channel number | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 114 | 126 | Alibi HD |
| 116 | 130 | Drama HD |
| 120 | 153 | 5USA (not Scotland) |
| 126 | 151 | 5STAR |
| 130 | 150 | 5ACTION HD |
| 131 | 198 | Crime + Investigation HD |
| 133 | 270 | Sky History HD |
| 136 | 269 | Together TV |
| 137 | 169 | Quest HD |
| 138 | 152 | 5SELECT |
| 164 | 166 | S4C HD (not Wales) |
| 165 | 167 | TLC HD |
| 166 | 168 | ID |
| 168 | 170 | Quest Red |
| 169 | 171 | DMAX |
| 170 | 189 | GREAT! tv |
| 171 | 192 | Horror Xtra |
| 172 | 197 | Reality Xtra |
| 174 | 199 | BLAZE |
| 175 | 228 | Virgin UHD |
| 176 | 245 | Eden HD |
| 177 | 250 | Discovery HD |
| 178 | 251 | Animal Planet HD |
| 179 | 252 | Discovery Science |
| 180 | 256 | Discovery Turbo |
| 181 | 257 | Discovery History |
| 182 | 265 | Nat Geo Wild HD |
| 183 | 266 | National Geographic HD |
| 186 | 272 | Sky History 2 HD |
| 187 | 273 | PBS America |
| 188 | 277 | Sky Documentaries HD |
| 189 | 278 | Sky Nature HD |
| 190 | 285 | Food Network |
| 191 | 286 | HGTV |
| 192 | 292 | God TV |
| 280 | 310 | MTV Music |
| 281 | 311 | MTV Live HD |
| 282 | 312 | MTV Hits |
| 283 | 313 | MTV 90s |
| 284 | 316 | MTV 80s |
| 285 | 335 | The Box |
| 286 | 336 | 4Music |
| 287 | 337 | E4 Extra |
| 288 | 338 | KISS |
| 289 | 340 | Magic TV |
| 290 | 342 | Kerrang |
| 291 | 344 | Vevo |
| 292 | 345 | Clubland |
| 293 | 346 | Now 70s |
| 294 | 347 | Now 80s |
| 295 | 348 | Now Rock |
Timeshift (+1)
Timeshift channels aren’t available on Virgin Media Stream
| New number from 4/7/2023 | Old Channel Number | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 303 | 114 | ITV1 +1 (Eng/Wal) / STV+1 (Sco) / UTV +1 (NI) |
| 304 | 142 | Channel 4 +1 |
| 305 | 155 | Channel 5 +1 |
| 306 | 146 | E4 +1 |
| 310 | 163 | Sky Witness +1 |
| 314 | 191 | Alibi +1 |
| 315 | 116 | ITV2 +1 |
| 316 | 226 | Drama +1 |
| 317 | 174 | ITV3 +1 |
| 318 | 175 | ITV4 +1 |
| 319 | 120 | ITVBe +1 |
| 320 | 185 | 5 USA +1 |
| 321 | 164 | Sky Crime +1 |
| 324 | 194 | Gold +1 |
| 325 | 190 | W +1 |
| 326 | 186 | 5 STAR +1 |
| 327 | 131 | Dave Ja Vu |
| 329 | 217 | Yesterday +1 |
| 331 | 222 | Crime + Investigation +1 |
| 332 | 133 | Comedy Central +1 |
| 333 | 271 | Sky History +1 |
| 337 | 213 | Quest +1 |
| 347 | 196 | More 4 +1 |
| 348 | 218 | CBS Reality +1 |
| 365 | 172 | TLC +1 |
| 366 | 173 | ID +1 |
| 369 | 214 | DMAX +1 |
| 371 | 219 | Horror Xtra +1 |
| 376 | 246 | Eden +1 |
| 377 | 258 | Discovery +1 |
| 378 | 259 | Animal Planet +1 |
| 379 | 260 | Discovery Science +1 |
| 381 | 261 | Discovery History +1 |
| 383 | 267 | National Geographic +1 |
| 391 | 290 | HGTV +1 |
While many online TV users don’t use channel numbers, for many viewers the three digit code remains an easy way of directly accessing live / linear TV channels, without having to first navigate, scroll and click through app menus.
Marc Thornham
Updated 29/06/2023