Virgin Media Passes One Billion Views of On-Demand TV Service

Virgin Media has delivered one billion television programmes through its on-demand service, adding up to almost 490 million hours of TV.

The company announced the impressive figures on Wednesday, adding that 435,000 customers have now signed up to its flagship TiVo service since it was released in July 2011.

Virgin has increased the number of people using its on-demand service by 14 percent since 2010 and it claims that the most popular boxset watched was The Vampire Diaries, while Paul was the most-watched film and Coronation Street topped the TV charts.

"Essentially people are watching more TV; whether that's On Demand, suggestions recorded for them, or as a result of new and exciting interactive experiences," executive director of digital entertainment Cindy Rose said.

Rose added that Virgin's On Demand service is "watched more than any channel except for BBC1 or ITV...we far surpassed our expectations in 2011."

Virgin's TiVo television service lets users pause and record television, but also learns a user's interests and records programmes that it believes will interest them.

TiVo was launched in July 2011, but has already amassed almost half a million subscribers. Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett said: "With the number of TiVo customers doubling in the final quarter of the year, our new TiVo service is attracting both new and existing customers.

"Since its commercial launch mid-way through the year, the number of TiVo subscribers has grown to almost half a million with a large and growing proportion now using its next-generation functionality on a regular basis."

These figures represent a clear success story for on-demand television and pave the way for a future where all television content is delivered over the internet.

While Sky uses satellite dishes to provide content, only last week the company announced an online-only TV service that will provide films and programmes through the internet without the need for a satellite.