October 14, 2011

New Virgin Media logo

They've spent all of that money that should have gone to securing Sky Atlantic* on a new logo to cash in on British fever with next year's Olympic/Royal Jubilee patriotism fiesta

* Joke.

33 comments:

ptet said...

* joke

I lol'ed... thru the tears...

alan said...

only a few more months to go,and i am out of all this virgin media rubbish,tivo waste of time to many glithes,more hd what a laugh,sorry i am changing the lot,tv,broadband ,phone.cant take any more of vm crap

kenneth said...

look good just too . got the red butten on itvhd on tivo i have as anyone who got tivo thanks it not working virgin got too be working on it . if you have can you let me no thanks

Unknown said...

Ah nationalism. Daily Heil readers will love it I bet.

Pass the sick bag.

paininthegulliver said...

@ moroboshi

what a load of crap

Anonymous said...

@ Alan
Got to say im a tad disappointed with what promised to be a good year for vm,Tivo(bugs yer but will be sorted) however not backed by new channels and the latest bunch of hd channels are a joke to say the least.Must admit come march im away also if still no sign of universal, sky atlantic,itv hd channels and disney hd.

Martin_e93 said...

"@virginmedia any new channel launch in 2012?"
"@AlanFry1 Lots of things in the pipe line, but we're sworn to secrecy! If we hear anything good we'll let you know. BMc"

http://twitter.com/#!/virginmedia

It looks like 2012 will be a very good year

Andy said...

Tivo works for me. More HD channels, Sky Anytime working, a broadband speed that works at the same rate as its described (%0mb = 50mb) It's been a terrible year. I hope 2012 is as bad.........

Unknown said...

@ paininthegulliver

What is? Virgin's jingoistic logo?

What do they hope to achieve by doing this? Make people ill? If so, well done, they've succeeded! This isn't the US. Little englanders who read the Daily Heil may feel a warm glow when they see a picture of the "queen" or a fluttering flag, but most of us fortunately don't. Virgin have misjudged this.

matthew said...

@ Andy
Agree totally with you....its like Sky doesn't have any bugs or glitches
Friends and family have it and heard and seen their niggles and problems.
Tivo is great...all the channels my family watch are in HD and love my BB speed (47+meg)

paininthegulliver said...

@ moroboshi

you feel ill at the sight of the Union Flag?

ash said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ash said...

@matthew
i totally agree with you ive actualy got both sky and virgin media (sky would not let me pay my contract off ) and i have far more problems with sky than i do virgin media my sky broadband the day was fitted synked at 12.5 meg was happy with that then DLM kicked in and ended up putting me on 7meg phones them up told them to sort it showed them a print screen of the first day they told me my area cant have over 7meg i said then why did i get it and why do all my neighbours get 15 then they tried blaming me. sky HD box you press delete twice it deletes about 4 programs your like WTF since getting VM back fi;; 100meg never drops below 95meg (sept on slow servers but thats not VMs fault)tivo few little niggles but works perfectly anyone in there mind who things switching to sky will be better needs committing lol just like i do for leaving VM after 16 years to goto sky then coming back in 7 months. just my little rant over lo

Anonymous said...

I can understand why some people are less than impressed with TiVo, as to be honest it is no where near the finished article. As for the broadband, well I get 48Mb+ all the time and this is why I chose VM over Sky. Its down to personal choices and experiences. Sky can keep their slow, copper wire broadband, thanks. As for the new logo, well, I don`t think it was meant to be taken seriously, its just a bit of fun....lighten up...

streaky_7 said...

Tivo is ace for me. Will obviously welcome the updates but still works great and is much much better than V+ and Sky+ of which I have had both. Its really changed the way I watch TV!!

Plus with VM I get little perks like Spotify, 100 free photo prints a month, free internet security and never pay for repairs or replacements.

Yes I would like Sky Atlantic and a couple more HD channels but I dont miss any shows I really want to see thanks to the super fast broadband I get from VM!!

I genuinely dont understand how people hate VM so much - there must be serious issues based on areas of the country because I am a very happy VM customer and im in St Albans, Herts.

VM are a different company to Sky so is it really hard to believe they may carry slightly different channels - esp when Sky monopolise like they do. If Sky have a channel or 2 thats really important to you, stop slagging off VM and just go to Sky. If you cant go to Sky then thats not VM's fault. Its just one of those things and just be grateful that if Sky cant service you, at least VM can so you still get a lot more than freeview!

VM dont have to carry specific channels and will make business decisions to determine whether they do or not.

As for hating Tivo - all I can say is if you have serious issues with it like reboots etc then there is an issue with your box because for most, things like that doesnt happen. so get it replaced. If you have issues with its general day to day use, then maybe your TV viewing habits dont warrant having Tivo - so go back to V+.

When I was with Sky I went through 3 or 4 boxes in 3 years - and after an expensive replacement when the first one went I then had to pay an extra £70 odd a year in insurance. I found their customer service terrible and if the weather was bad I got a poor signal.

VM rocks!

streaky_7 said...

In hindsight, I would like to retract my above comment VM rocks.

I have had a better experience with VM than I did with Sky and I like the services I get from VM.

Rocking however they do not. I should have ended my above post "I really like VM". I feel like I got caught up in the moment.

campbellg said...

Yuck, what a load of crap. Remember to think of that logo next time you're transferred to an Indian call centre.

Richard said...

@streak_7 - lol
However as you and Andy and matt and others said... It works better than sky.

How could you want to switch to a Murdoch company... You meant to think they care about people!!!

TiVo works... people struggled with programming video recorders now they stuggle with TiVo! Only this time they blame VM.

Millions of TiVo customers world wide can't be wrong!!

As for the logo... I like it. What's wrong with being patriotic? BA ditched the flag and got chastised and now they are returning to it. British co panes should be proud to be British.

If you want to forget your nationality, go live in a different country and stop taking the benefits offered by the UK.

Richard said...

Sorry don't mean benefits as in money etc meant benefits such as nhs, democratic government, education, employment law, freedom of speach, a monarchy, green and pleasant lands etc

Darren Taylor said...

Very disappointed with Virgin Media they promised us more HD channels. But they give us cheap rubbish channels Dave HD etc. How about some quality HD channels, we don't even have all of ITV's HD channels. Before people start slating me and say go to Sky then, i don't have the option of joining Sky. All i can say is that Sky must be laughing there heads of at Virgin Media.

streaky_7 said...

@ Darren Taylor

The fact you can't go to Sky isn't anyone's fault and certainly not VM's. So if the only options are

1) Freeview
2) VM

I would be grateful you have VM as an option full stop. At least you get everything VM have to offer. They are a different company to Sky so again is it really hard to fathom they will have different channels to Sky?

They are not obliged to give you all what Sky does. VM have made no secret that they are more of an all rounder - u get MOST channels u can get on Sky, u get the best broadband in the UK and they offer a phone line. They throw in some other perks to make them stand out in other ways - some of these things I highlighted in my previous post.

Also, and I may be wrong, I'm not in the industry, but don't Sky have millions and millions more subscribers than VM - and for various reasons not just content. Dont Sky have something like 7-8 millions more subscribers? Plus the Murdoch empire behind it? So isn't it logical to perceive that Sky will have more money to invest in content . Because of there set up they can't beat VM on broadband so they invest in TV.

And if VM spent loads of money to get Sky Atlantic and some extra HD channels, does anyone really believe VM will get 7million more subscribers? No. Plus, the prices of VM may have to go up which would drive people away as well.

Again, VM are a business and they have to weigh up the options and make business decisions to decide whether paying the extra to get the channels will benefit VM or not. Yes it benefit us but it's not good getting all the extra channels to then go out of business! Then all those who can't get Sky will end up with Freeview - I know what I would rather.

Darren Taylor said...

streaky_7 I gather you work for Virgin Media then. Some people on this page do not respect other people's right to an opinion. I will not be driven off this page by anyone as i am entitled to an opinion just the same as everyone else. I stand by what i said earlier. If Virgin don't want to keep on losing customers they must add better HD content or continue to lose customers.

streaky_7 said...

I don't work for VM. I'm a key account manager for a chemical business.

And I'm not trying to get you off the forum or disrespecting your opinion. I apologise if I have made you feel that way as that wasn't my intention.

People, including yourself, keep making statements like you have done so again in your previous post. And all I'm trying to do is make people see things from a different angle.

Devils advocate if you will

As all the negative I read is basically saying VM don't invest in channels. They are a business and will invest in what they believe to be the best thing for VM. That's it. Pure and simple. Do you really think they just don't bother. They will do what's necessary and realistic for the business. Otherwise they are taking big risks and could go under.

Plus to say if they don't invest they will lose customers is too black and white - if they can't afford to just throw money at channels like Sky can, without recouping ie putting up prices, how many customers would leave VM to go to Sky as Sky would then be a Lot cheaper. So they have to weigh up the pros and cons as a business what to do.

Once they have done this it is then down to the consumer to decide who they want to go with based on what each one offer. VM are an all rounder as I said. Sky is mostly about TV.

That's all I'm trying to say. I want extra channels as well. I want more HD. I just don't get all the hate towards VM as if they are holding the channels back out of spite. They are a business and will make decisions best for the business.

Square eyes said...

@Darren Taylor

I do work for VM and as Streaky says we are a business, however say in 2 months time VM got Sky Atlantic, would that please you - YES. Perhaps at the same time your package goes up by £3 per month, would that please you - NO.

Okay another way of looking at things - VM get Sky Atlantic - hooray, Sky then launch another new channel & move what they see as premium content to it - Oh my God whats that we hear, why havn't VM got this channel, it showing all these great programs.

Final thought - perhaps VM get Sky Atlantic, but have to start charging for the HD channels (except movies & sport) from the XL package which you get FREE at this time to pay Sky for Atlantic, then Sky launch another channel - I know lets call it Sky Pacific, to which they move certain programming which it seems everyone wants, but VM this time say hey lets not argue about the price, lets pay Sky what they want, we can just raise our prices to cover it. So your price goes up another £3 per month, so now you are paying for the HD & Atlantic - Happy - I don't think so.

My question - where does it end?

For everyone else

VM are not a charity, if you ran your own business and your customers wanted everything for nothing - like some on the people who post on here do, how long would you remain in business if you just gave it away. For those who think VM are rubbish, why do you stay with us, and for the responses - well Sky is not an option - Freeview or BT vision, oh just thought they don't have Atlantic or a vast selection of HD channels either.

ash said...

@ Square eyes
well said i agree completely i would love more HD channels like what i used to get on sky but in consideration that i dont have to pay any extra to get HD with vm im actually grateful for what they do offer theres only about 4 that i miss off sky but its not the end of the world that i don't get them and im sure theyll come eventually id rather have what ive got now at no extra cost than be stuck paying 10 quid a month for them

campbellg said...

Square Eyes, I'd rather pay for HD I do watch than pay nothing for HD I don't.

"and for the responses - well Sky is not an option - Freeview or BT vision, oh just thought they don't have Atlantic or a vast selection of HD channels either."

Yes, VM are the best of the rest but that's it. I stay with VM not because I rate them highly, but simply because they're better than nothing and I bet I'm not the only one who thinks like this.

Whatever the defence, VM are losing customers while Sky are gaining them, and that's a fact - and despite what VM say it ain't all churn either, with every channel VM fail to acquire like Sky Atlantic, Box Nation, Premier Sport they'll lose more and more punters - it all adds up.

We'll see once the next quarterly figures come out how VM are doing at customer retention. If it's down again, at what stage do VM accept that their policy of channel acquisition is to blame?

Nialli said...

@campbellg: I wouldn't read too much into the next quarter's numbers as the channel strategy is not the sole or even necessarily a significant influence.
If VM's TV customers goes up (and they normally do in Q3) then would you accept that the VM channel/HD strategy is working? Of course not. It's not that clean cut.

Unknown said...

@Square eyes The problem is that Virgin are reliant on a competitor to supply them with content. When they had Living (which is trash, but people seem to like trash) they at least had a bargaining chip, but that's gone now.

Sky are now free to play as many games with Virgin as they like, and there's absolutely nothing Virgin can do about it. Selling Living was a moronic, shortsighted decision.

Square eyes said...

You have missed the point of my post, its this simple - more wants more!!!

If VM give you what you want and then Sky do it all over again, you will all jump on the band wagon - VM this, VM that, why don't VM get it, were does it end.

My point about "Sky is not an option", is aimed at those who cannot get Sky, well VM is not the only option available to these people, there are other suppliers such as BT Vision. So if you are unhappy with service - why stay?

Life is too short - get a life

campbellg said...

We stay because the channels we want aren't necessarily available with other suppliers either.

So I repeat, VM , better than nothing, but by no means good value, in my opinion.

"If VM give you what you want and then Sky do it all over again, you will all jump on the band wagon - VM this, VM that, why don't VM get it, were does it end."

If Sky are so untrustworthy and conduct such underhanded deeds why do VM buy ANY of their channels from such an unscrupulous supplier.

Oh yeah, because without Sky channels VM would be sunk. As Moroboshi says, VM sold it's greatest asset, now there's litle option but to pay the piper or lose customers to them.

If Sky are monopolising HBO content then why don't VM go crying to ofcom, God knows they do that about sport and movies, why not drama?

Square eyes said...

Why bother with HBO stuff, don't forget most of it was already seen through VM on-demand

oh and you still have not answered the question about jumping on the band wagon again

campbellg said...

"Why bother with HBO stuff, don't forget most of it was already seen through VM on-demand"

You can get Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Blue Bloods, Treme, the Borgias and all those other first run series on VM on-demand? Why did no one tell me before now? And here was me thinking VM chose not to have access to them! Well I'm converted, God bless VM.

As for your band wagon hypothetical question, have Sky created exclusive Sports or Movie channels to which VM customers have no access and switched all the decent content there? No, so why assume they'd do the same for drama? Because Sky are the evil bad guys, I suppose and VM are some kind of Robin Hood??

ash said...

i remember when vm put basically every HBO series on demand i used to watch tales from the crypt on it