Virgin Media’s On-Demand TV Use Soars, Milestone Set

Virgin Media Inc. (VMED) Friday announce its on-demand TV offering topped 45 million views in August, up from 34 million in January, providing further proof that on-demand is in big demand as an alternative to scheduled TV.

The London-based entertainment and communications giant called the 33 percent increase in views a “massive increase,” adding the August numbers brought total views of on-demand content for the first eight months of this year to more than 314 million.

For the first time ever, 50 percent of Virgin Media's 3.5 million TV customers are watching on-demand regularly, according to the company. The boost in on-demand viewing has been driven by a wave of new content partners and deals in TV, music, movies and kids programming as well as the launch of the popular BBC iPlayer on Virgin Media's TV service.

“We are clearly on the precipice of some fundamental changes in the way people watch TV,” said Virgin Media CEO Neil Burkett, in prepared comments. “As we continue to add compelling programming and develop innovative new ways of accessing it, we will certainly enter a new era of television.”

In the United States, cablecos have been building vast on-demand content libraries for years to better accommodate evolving consumer viewing behavior. The content started with free and pay movies, but has evolved to include next-day viewing of new TV series episodes and much more. Telco TV providers are rushing to keep pace with their own on-demand content libraries.

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