Virgin Media’s ‘free’ upgrades and speed boosts limit impact of latest price hike

Virgin’s V6 set top box is now used by around 20% of its TV customers.
Virgin Media’s recent price rise has put off fewer customers than its 2016 hike, according to parent company Liberty Global’s latest market update.

In August the cable firm announced that customers would see their monthly bills rise between £1.99 and £3.99 per month from November.

Earlier this year Liberty Global revealed the previous hike had cost it dearly, with churn – the number of people cancelling their services – reaching 15.0% in the first quarter.

To head-off any repeat, customers were rewarded with equipment upgrades and broadband speed boosts, a move which seems to have paid off after the firm reported “fewer price-related disconnects than a year ago.”

Liberty’s update also reveals that its new V6 set top box – unveiled last September – is now used by around 20% of its TV customers.

The rapid take-up likely to be driven by long-running complaints about the speed and stability of its previous generation TiVo boxes which Virgin Media has been selling since 2011 and lags behind the features offered by the firm’s rivals.

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