Virgin Media customers from this Sunday will no longer be able to watch popular UKTV channels such as Dave, Gold and Drama.
Virgin Media has been in negotiations with UKTV over renewing a deal for its TV channel portfolio.
But the BBC, who jointly own UKTV with Discovery, hold the video on demand rights which have been sold to major streaming players such as Netflix.
And barring a last minute deal, these UKTV channels will be leaving Virgin Media on Sunday.
So channels such as Dave, which show repeats of popular shows like Top Gear, will no longer be available on Virgin Media.
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Speaking to The Guardian, David Bouchier, Virgin Media’s chief digital entertainment officer, said: “The problem is the BBC does not grant the UKTV digital rights with its TV shows which leaves it somewhat stranded as a linear dinosaur in an on-demand modern world.
“Part of a commitment to audiences has to be allowing them to watch what they want, when they want and that also means being able to watch those programmes on demand.
“From US studios to small programme-makers, that is how it is done.
“The BBC puts UKTV in a very difficult position and we have been unable to come to terms and will replace the channels.”
Darren Childs, the chief executive of UKTV, said: “We want to continue to provide our channels to Virgin Media, but the huge cut in fees that Virgin has requested doesn’t reflect the value we bring to customers.
“UKTV’s channels account for over a quarter of pay entertainment channel viewing within Virgin Media’s basic subscription pack.
“If our channels are no longer available through Virgin, we will be hugely disappointed for the millions of customers who will lose out.”
As the news emerged Virgin Media customers flocked to social media sites to voice their frustration.
One fan tweeted: “Nooooooo! I’m about to lose @taskmaster!!! Virgin Media customers to lose UKTV’s 10 channels in rights row”.
Another posted: “Are you serious @virginmedia?
“Have you really failed to secure a deal with @UKTV This is an epic #fail”.
And one added: “@virginmedia if you are removing the uktv Channels from Sunday can i cancel my contact as you are no longer providing the service i pay for?”
In a post online Virgin Media explained: “From Sunday all UKTV channels and programming will be replaced on Virgin TV.
“Channels affected are: Drama, Really, Yesterday, Home, Gold, W, Alibi, Dave, Eden and Good Food.
“This includes +1 and HD channels, as well as On Demand and TV Go content.
“We are still in discussions with UKTV, but we have already invested in an extensive collection of much-loved programming which will be made available to you (depending on your bundle)”.
They added: “Virgin Media has had a long relationship with UKTV, but viewing behaviours among our customers are changing and we are committed to investing in the kind of programming you want to watch, whenever and however you want to watch it.
“Unfortunately, due to the restrictions put on UKTV by the BBC, UKTV is not able to provide the significant on-demand programming that we know our customers want.”