CHANGE CHANNEL
Major TV channel makes comeback on Virgin Media after three year absence – and there’s a free upgrade too
Could the channel's return be a sign of more changes? Find out in the video above
A MAJOR international channel has made a shock return to Virgin Media this week three years after it was dramatically pulled.
The channel disappeared after its owner opted to go for their own subscription model.
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As such, it was removed from Virgin Media and other platforms like EE TV and Freesat in November 2021.
But now TV news fans have discovered that CNN is back on Virgin Media boxes.
And it's also returned in HD unlike previously, along with a dedicated on-demand catch up section.
Viewers will find CNN on channel number 626 on all Virgin Media boxes.
Read more about Virgin Media
The move comes as CNN owner Warner Bros Discovery explores options to launch its Max streaming service in the UK with HBO hits like House of the Dragon, The Last of US, The White Lotus and Succession.
Warner Bros Discovery has had a long-running agreement with Sky that keeps HBO's biggest shows exclusive to Sky channels and its sister streaming service NOW.
While Max has launched in a number of countries outside the US already, the deal with Sky has prevented it from coming to the UK.
Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz indicated that Sky may not lose HBO shows even when Max eventually lands.
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“Yes, Max will launch in UK, we all know that,” she said at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
"But we’re both a platform and a broadcast business, so there are different scenarios as to how the partnership evolves.
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"But there’s no scenario where Max won’t be accessible to Sky customers."
A recent report claimed that Warner Bros Discovery has been in talks with Virgin Media, EE and Amazon about Max's launch too.
Will viewers care for another streaming app?
Analysis by Millie Turner, Senior Technology & Science Reporter for The Sun.
Max - formerly HBO Max - is finally coming to the UK.
And while Warner Bros. will have certainly mapped out its potential consumer market across the country and the rest of Europe - will Brits really buy into another streaming app?
Following the announcement, social media - unexpectedly - didn't flood with viewers exuding relief and excitement that their long wait was over.
Sentiment towards streaming apps is growing more sour worldwide, but particularly in the UK, as consumers feel 'nickel and dimed' into price hikes.
Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video all either increased their subscription costs last year, or brought previously free features behind a paywall.
That, alongside a Netflix-induced trend to block account sharing among family and friends, has left consumers feeling either ripped off - or that they need to trim down the number of apps they watch.
Plenty of social media users have vowed to stop paying for another streaming service, and are instead hopping from one to the next with monthly memberships.
Where this decision will leave Sky and Now TV is also in question, but it could make their offerings less attractive to consumers.
"It isn't until 2026, but I am certainly not paying £6 a month for Sky's own content," one viewer on X (previously Twitter) following the Warner Bros. announcement.
Do you have room in your life for another app?
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