Virgin Media offers you 14 new TV channels for free - here’s what’s new

If you beam digital TV into your home via a Virgin Media box, you can now tune in to a slew of new channels today at no extra cost. Virgin Media has announced it is giving all its TV customers access to 14 “premium” South Asian TV channels for free.

The 14 channels will be available from July 18 to August 17, the exact same dates as South Asian Heritage Month is celebrated in the UK.

Usually, Virgin charges £12 per month for customers to add its Asian Mela bundle to their regular bill, but now thousands of hours of content can be enjoyed free of charge.

This includes access to much loved TV series such as Anupama on Utsav Plus HD, Tum Se Tum Tak on Zee TV HD, Mangal Lakshmi on Colors HD and Prithviraj Chauhan on Sony TV HD. There are also six Indian movie channels including several Bollywood classics and India’s highest grossing film in 2024, Pushpa: The Rule Part 2, which can be seen on Zee Cinema HD.

“We want to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month the best way we know how – by giving Virgin TV customers access to world-leading South Asian entertainment to enjoy at no extra cost,” said David Bouchier, Chief TV & Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media O2.

“It’s an incredibly important time for families and friends to come together and celebrate the living legacy of South Asian Heritage, we hope there’s something for everything to enjoy across the 14 premium Asian Mela channels.”

You’ll also catch the start of season 17 of quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati on Sony TV HD on August 11, and season two of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is coming to Utsav Plus HD on July 29.

Here’s the full list of channels available to all Virgin Media TV customers until August 17:

• 801: Utsav Gold HD
• 802: Utsav Bharat
• 803: Utsav Plus HD
• 805: Sony TV HD
• 806: Sony MAX HD
• 808: Sony MAX 2
• 809: Zee TV HD
• 810: Zee Cinema HD
• 811: Zee Punjabi HD
• 815: B4U Movies
• 825: Colors Gujarati
• 826: Colors HD
• 827: Colors Rishtey
• 828: Colors Cineplex

As well as these channels, Virgin has been busy adding several FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) channels to its roster for all customers to enjoy, again at no extra cost.

These include channels from Rakuten and U&GOLD (formerly UK TV Gold), as well as dedicated channels for perennial favourites Hell’s Kitchen and quiz show Eggheads.