Virgin Media is at it again. The broadband and TV provider has been busy lately adding new free-to-air channels for all of its TV subscribers, and now it has announced the availability of two more.
Starting this week, all Virgin TV customers can now access Rakuten TV Top Movies and Rakuten TV Action, two Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television channels, or ‘FAST’ channels for short.
It comes after the addition of UKTV’s U&GOLD and U&alibi FAST channels for Virgin customers last month, as well as Hell’s Kitchen and Eggheads dedicated channels in February.
Virgin Media O2 said this takes its tally of FAST channels to 34 and also includes popular go-tos DAZN Women’s Football and Red Bull TV.
The latest addition of the two Rakuten channels does not apply to customers with Virgin’s V6 box, however. Only customers with the Virgin TV 360 and Flex boxes have access to the full range of FAST channels.
Though Virgin Media charges for customers to sign up to its TV packages, these streaming channels are added at no extra cost as they serve the viewer with adverts, similar to how ITV1 and Channel 4 organise their programming with ad breaks.
If you’re a Virgin TV subscriber, you can now find Rakuten TV Top Movies at channel 446 and Rakuten TV Action at channel 447.
“We know great TV and entertainment is a priority for our customers, so it’s brilliant to be able to offer them access to exciting new content at no extra cost,” said David Bouchier, Chief TV and Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media O2.
“From comedy to cooking and everything in between, our line-up of FAST channels offers something for everyone, and these exciting new additions will provide our customers even more access to popular films and TV shows from Rakuten TV at the click of a button.”
As well as the new channels, Virgin TV customers can also now download the Rakuten TV app for free from the Virgin TV app store. There’s no subscription needed, and Virgin says it opens access to “hundreds of TV shows and movies on demand”.
The app also offers access to TV series and films that users can pay to rent or buy.
