LAST UPDATE | 13 Aug 2020
VIRGIN MEDIA SPORT have tonight announced that they have suspended their supply of sports channels to eir Sport, explaining it is in relation to a failure ‘to pay the contracted distribution licence fee’.
The decision was revealed in a statement tweeted out by Virgin Media Sport at a time when they were showing coverage of the first half of the Champions League quarter-final tie between Atletico Madrid and RB Leipzig.
The statement in full reads:
“We have suspended our supply of Virgin Media Sport and Virgin Media Sport Extra to eir Sport because, eir has failed to pay the contracted distribution licence fee.
“Please refer to eir’s technical support line: 1890 260 260, or contact @eircare.”
Statement:
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 13, 2020
We have suspended our supply of Virgin Media Sport and Virgin Media Sport Extra to eir Sport because, eir has failed to pay the contracted distribution licence fee.
Please refer to eir's technical support line: 1890 260 260, or contact @eircare.
In response eir Sport have issued a statement tonight to The42 outlining their stance on the issue and claim they ‘offered fair terms’ which reflected ‘the reduced timetable’ in sport this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In common with other live entertainment businesses operating through this pandemic, eir Sports can only pay for the sports events that actually take place.
“We have consistently offered fair terms to each of our live sports content providers to reflect the reduced timetable, however Virgin Media has not agreed to updated terms and has taken the unreasonable step of unilaterally withholding their feed from Virgin Media Sports viewers on the eir network.
“eir Sports remains committed to offering the best in available live sports entertainment and we are working towards a swift resolution to this issue.”
The timing will impact Irish soccer fans who rely on the service with Virgin Media providing coverage of this month’s Champions League knockout ties being held in Portugal and the Europa League action from Germany.
The quarter-final games continue in the premier continental competition with tomorrow night’s glamour tie between Barcelona and Bayern Munich before Man City take on Lyon on Saturday night.
Last August it was announced that Virgin Media and eir Sport were joining forces as they had agreed a deal to carry their sports channels on each other’s TV platforms.
It was welcome news for Irish sports viewers with Virgin Media’s soccer coverage complemented by the rugby offering from eir Sport as they carried all 48 games of the Rugby World Cup from Japan last year.
Several viewers tonight complained that they were unable to watch the game between Atletico and Leipzig.
@eircare @VMSportIE @virginmedia
— Anto (@ryan92kev) August 13, 2020
Can Virgin media sport on the eir tv app be sorted? pic.twitter.com/IdrrkUl7uF
Ehhh why am I watching Kerry V Dublin on Virgin Media Sport instead of the champions league game 🤨 @eirSport @virginmedia
— 🇬🇹Bobby Hanlon🇮🇪🇺🇦 (@bobby9496) August 13, 2020
@VirginMediaIE why is 422 not showing Virgin Media Sport. And Champions League..... It's showing Eir Sport 2 and GAA ...
— Mark Delaney (@MarkDel44) August 13, 2020
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Apparently virgin have been trying to get through to eir to collect payment but had been on hold since May so gave up!
@jackamy: infuriating company. I’ve been trying to sort out a bill issue since March. I’ve resorted to hand written letters. To a broadband company. The mind boggles.
@Dearbhla O Reilly: same. They tried to charge me for 6 months of a service they didn’t provide. I could not contact anyone. The PIN number they gave me would not work. They went to a hard finance dept collector who told me I would be in court. I was happy to do so. Never heard from them again.
@Dearbhla O Reilly: Don’t get me started on Eircom, missold me a broadband package 7 years ago and it took me 6 months and the call listened back to, to get it resolved, 75meg and unlimited download for €25 I was sold, me first Bill was €75 with €57 on top for goin over me 80gig allowance??????? Had to go thru 2 managers to resolve and that was only because I was a manager in a call centre for a while previously and knew the story, when I reported it to comreg(another joke of a company) they laughed and said “let me guess Eircom?” Worst shower in Ireland!
@Dearbhla O Reilly: no hand written letters, email them your stopping your DB, soon will be on to you
@jackamy: why would anybody in there right mind sign up to eir is beyond me…
@Dearbhla O Reilly: you found an address!!
Good luck with eir customer care, it’s ruddy atrocious
@Richard Cronin:
And when they use agents like carphone warehouse (biggest liars in retail) to sell for them it puts a whole new meaning on liars and blatent disregard for customers.
@Richard Cronin: I have never encountered anything worse in my life. They don’t deserve a cent of anyone’s business for it.
@Michael Clinton: OMG I’m with you on carphone warehouse! Worst pack of lazy lying muppets in the mobile phone selling market. Don’t get me started.
@Ger:
The staff in carphone warehouse are utterly unemployable rejects from the dregs of society.
If I seen carphone warehouse on a cv I would throw it in the bin.
EIR, the biggest joke of a company I’ve ever had the misfortune to deal with.
@Mairtin Antaine O Conaill: same here. How they are still in business is a mystery. The probably just left Virgin sports on hold for an hour. Then cut them off
@Mairtin Antaine O Conaill: Same, by far the worst company i’ve ever dealt with. Won’t even get into it cause the list of mistakes wouldn’t fit in a comment
@Mairtin Antaine O Conaill: fact… Shocking company who had the monopoly at one stage and managed to screw it up wothin 21 years.
@Kyle: they owned the network of landlines
And that’s why I’m using IPTV and android TV box.
@mac: crazy divil
@mac: and you won’t be using much longer if you keep mouthing about it.
@Chief: yes chief. agreed
@mac: shushhhh! S1lly boy!
@mac: tuh tuh tuh always one egitt that can’t keep council and ruin it for everybody else. And you support arsenal enough said.
@mac: plonker. Everybody knows the first rule about this.
@Chief: Streams and boxes can always be updated as others go down, its a nice cycle.
@Marcus: ssshhh
@Paul Gorry: Yeah these companies have no clue people are doing this. And you support Liverpool. Enough said
Eir should have their licence revoked as a service provider, they really are atrocious
WiFi + Chromecast + Smart TV, stream what you like without paying extortionate prices.
@Anthony Edward Healy: equals scab
@david lydon: If it’s a subscription channel and you’re not paying for it, it’s theft.
@david lydon: (S)mart tv (Chromecast) (A)and (B)roadband
@Conall: so is the prices the big broadcasters charge, they had to be guilt tripped during lock down to even give the option to freeze sport’s channels when there wasn’t any live sport, so any sympathy people had went out the window then
@BM:
@Anthony Edward Healy: problem with that is you can’t record. Have to teach my kids how to put themselves to bed
@david lydon: No. Smart.
@david lydon: equals not being ripped off
@david lydon: I don’t watch sport, and wouldn’t pay Virgin Media or Eir that price a month just because sport contributes to the major cost of the service!!!!
@Conall: its not theft if you don’t watch sport, and don’t want to pay for it!
@Anthony Edward Healy: if you watch anything you’d otherwise have to pay for then it’s theft. I’m all in favour of it though
Both a right shower to deal with
Eir have written the book on how to provide inexcusably atrocious customer service.
Both of them are a joke
I can’t wait for Netflix sport
Good luck getting anything from Eir. I cancelled with them and they charged me for three months after…. 2 years later I’m still fighting to get my cash back. People told me they were a horrible company, but I honestly thought the warnings were so nasty that there was no chance of them being so bad… But they are as bad as described!
@Cian O Grady: why should you be going to Eir? It’s the Virgin you had a contract with, virgin is the one responsible
@Kris: no, I had a contract with Eir which I terminated over two years ago! Eir owe me money….. Not virgin. I’m saying “good luck to virgin media in getting any money from Eir! I’ve been fighting with them for 2 years!”
@Cian O Grady: For balance, I had a similar story with VM. No service provided, charged anyway for two months. It took eight months to get my money back.
Call the cops, charged me for a phone I never got (they did not have them) it took nearly four months to get my money back, after about 20 one hour phone calls. So much for regulator.
Dodge box all the way
Watching sports on a television in ireland is an absolute rip off. End of.
Eir must be among the worst service providers in operation. Fully aware due to pandemic services are slower, but eir are a compleat disaster. Unless you want to pay a bill they are impossible to contact. Spent hours trying to get through to them. Eventually after trying to contact them spending at least an hour a day trying to get through…was told by the person I spoke to they could not deal with my issue as it was a different department. The circus begins again..
Typical, Virigin had a contract, they supposed to maintain stuff and decided to send people to eir. I’m sorry but it is Virgin and Eir problem and customer should not be going around looking for answer. Typical
Both useless companies. The commentators on Virgin Media Sport are about as useful as the broadband I receive here in the midlands
Anyone having trouble with this abomination of a company simply get your whinge on twitter. I spent hours failing to get anyone on the phone only to find they hate to have their dirty laundry aired on social media. @eircare is the rather ironic twitter handle.
Im into my last month of 24 month phone contract with Eir.im moving back to vodafone.ive heard people have had issues with Eir after you leave them,they try take the direct debit etc.yes i will cancel it myself.any truth in these stories?
@Baldy Boo Bolingoli: even comreg are having trouble getting through to Eir with my issue. Eir should change the logo on their head office to instead be the Trotters Independent Traders logo and just have 50 ft neon initials of TIT on their head office. (gag taken from “only fools and horses”if you don’t get it, look it up.)
@Baldy Boo Bolingoli: did they charger you when you went to spain ?
Eir is only pure and utter dirt. Would get better response if sent smoke signals
Can eir get anything right.
Eir tv package and broadband in the house and in fairness the quality of internet is excellent but if something is up they are a nuisance to deal with.
You think Eir are bad now , when they were Eircom they fleeced the nation could charge what liked up to recently and maybe still they monopolised exchanges making it impossible for people to connect to other networks in rural areas
@JJandtim Dwyer: I’m three years trying to get a line to my house. Six meters from the cable
Eir Sport clearly not long for this world.
@Rochey77: Fingers crossed
Who’d have guessed Eir would be cheap???….
God I hate Eir. If they were giving away subscription for free i wouldn’t give them my service. Absolute rotton company and to see so many other people feel the same isnt a surprise at all. Customer service is a joke and I wouldn’t even start going on about the issues iv had cause it would take too long.. Robbing w**kers
Cricfree and FBSport and Bob’s yer uncle!
Eir wouldn’t install a phone line to my home so screw them and their poxy sport channels
@Ed: that’s just because they are incompetent! I had to offer to pay for the installation if the connection failed, but I could not see how I’d be the only house in the estate that could not receive Internet. Once they installed the line I had Internet, but they told me I could only get csd dial up. After a few months I found out what billing code they needed to change me too and it was when I rang up and asked to move to this billing code I was informed that my price option wasn’t available and if I wanted the speed I was contacted for I’d have to now pay €40 per month. I’d recommend going for anyone else. Even dream up an imaginary company and I guarantee that this imaginary company will provide a service that is at least on par to what EIR provide. Because EIR’s service is non existent!
Eir once again confirming their status as a national embarrassment … stick with sky guys. A real company
Anyone who signs deals with these bottom of the barrel lowlifes absolutely deserves all that they get! And can I sincerely wish them even more of it in the future. :-)
Eir are a joke of a company with the worst customer service
Correct
The saving grace is not having to listen to Brian Kerr’s gurrier Dublin accent or some other so called retired, run of the mill Dublin player droning on ad nauseum