Will Sky be the only bidder for Virgin Media TV?

Chris Forrester

The UK’s Channel 4 has pulled out of the auction to acquire Virgin Media’s cluster of entertainment channels (VM-TV), saying it has better uses for its cash. Final bids for the channels are due in now. The current consensus is that top bidder is still BSkyB, probably the last buyer Virgin wants to sell to!

It is understood that Time Warner, NBC-Universal and European media giant RTL have all taken a close look at Virgin’s broadcasting assets (which include long-estabished channels Living and Challenge TV), but are reportedly low bidders. Channel 4 is reportedly keen to put its cash to work by buying in to UKTV (jointly owned by Virgin and BBC Worldwide) and not subject to this specific auction.

Currently BSkyB is the highest bidder for VM-TV, with around £160m on the table.