Virgin Media reports surge in on-demand

Virgin Media has revealed it saw a “massive” increase in on-demand viewing over the first eight months of the year. It claims half of its 3.5 million viewers are now using the service.

The entertainment company, which is publishing figures for the first time, says views leapt from 34 million in January to 45 in August on its TV platform. The 33% increase in viewing takes its total views of on-demand content to 314 million over the period.

It says that the “significant take-up” of on-demand viewing has been driven by new content partners and deals across TV, music, films and children’s progamming, as well as the launch of BBC iPlayer on Virgin’s TV service.

Neil Berkett, the chief executive of Virgin Media, says: “We are clearly on the precipice of some fundamental changes in the way people watch TV.”

There were 16 million views of Virgin’s on-demand music service in August, which it says is the highest since the service launched. It comes after new developments including genre-based music playlists, and exclusive gigs, including highlights of the V Festival. It also saw a strong uplift in children’s shows with the views hitting 2.5 million in August, which is attributed to shows such as Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob Squarepants.

The take-up of BBC iPlayer on Virgin Media’s TV platform has grown by an average of 11.5 million views per month, and now accounts for a third of all BBC iPlayer views.