Virgin Mobile has confirmed that its Virgin Mobile TV service will launch on 1 October. Virgin Mobile TV will broadcast BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 and E4, though BBC1, which will be free of charge, is offered on a 12-month trial basis, and Channel 4 will initially broadcast its made-for-mobile TV channel, Channel 4 Short Cuts, with a Channel 4 simulcast expected to follow.
The service, which is provided by BTs wholesale mobile broadcast entertainment service, BT Movio, will also broadcast DAB digital radio, and will offer red-button interactivity and a seven-day EPG (Electronic Programme Guide).
Virgin Mobile TV can be viewed on the Virgin Mobile Lobster 700 Mobile TV phone, which will be available from 1 October through Virgin Mobile Stores within Virgin Megastores and WHSmiths, its standalone stores, and direct from the Virgin Mobile website.
The service will be offered free of charge to customers on a contract of 25 a month or more, for the life of their contract. The phone is available on pre-pay for 199, when the service will be free for an initial three-month period, followed by a charge of 5 a month.
Virgin is supporting the launch with a multi-million pound ad campaign fronted (we use the word advisedly) by Pamela Anderson. The ads will be seen on British TV for the first time on October 9th.
The launch of Virgin Mobiles Tellyphone is a real watershed, both in terms of mobile devices and the evolution of broadcasting says Virgin Mobile MD Alan Gow. Virgin Mobile finally delivers what others have been promising for so long – real TV broadcast to your mobile, delivering the programmes you want to watch, when you want to watch them, in a simple and easy-to-use experience. We are hugely proud of the Virgin Mobile TV service and I think it could revolutionise how, when and where people choose to watch TV. 
