March 07, 2008

Berkett confirmed as Virgin Media Chief Exec

After six months of "acting up", Neil Berkett has been confirmed this week as the honest-to-goodness-real-deal CEO of everyone's favourite UK cable company; press release here

What does this mean for the future of HD services on VM? To date, his strategic statements on the company's direction have made sound business sense but haven't been so encouraging with regards to HD and particularly more HD channels. His contention that Virgin's strengths are its broadband and On Demand TV provision cannot be argued with, but his view that high definition services are best delivered via On Demand rather than actual channels is more contentious, especially if this is to be a pay-per-view model.

We'll just have to see how this pans out. Regardless of what Virgin Media services you value most, everyone must agree that a strong Virgin Media requires strong strategic leadership and a period of sustained commercial growth. I for one am willing to give Berkett a fair crack of the whip before passing judgement. It's not as if the previous occupants of the big chair have been impressive - he's hardly got a tough act to follow!

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