Virgin Media Television is making a fourth television channel available to Sky satellite and streaming subscribers in the Republic of Ireland.
Virgin Media Four, which launched last August on Saorview and cable in 2022, will become available on Sky satellite and Sky Glass/Stream platforms for the first time this week.
The general entertainment service will be available on the following Sky Ireland channel numbers from Thursday 27th April 2023:
- Sky satellite (Sky Q, Sky+HD) channel 160
- Sky Glass channel 159
Satellite channels are normally updated automatically around mid-morning.
Viewers using older Sky receivers will miss out
But viewers using older standard definition (SD) only Sky satellite receivers will miss out, as Virgin Media Four will be HD only. Affected viewers need to upgrade to a newer Sky satellite box. This is part of a wider transition away from SD broadcasting that has seen the BBC end satellite transmission of BBC Northern Ireland in SD this year.
Virgin Media Four was part of an expansion of Virgin Media Television’s portfolio in 2022. In addition to launching Virgin Media Four, it also launched Virgin Media More. However, Virgin Media More – a replacement for the Virgin Media Sport channel – is only available to Virgin Media TV customers in the Republic of Ireland.
Marc Thornham