Virgin Media Launches TiVo-Powered Web TV

LONDON -- U.K. cable TV operator Virgin Media is launching an on-demand TV, gaming and web-enabled entertainment service powered by high-speed Internet, which is capable of standard definition, HD and 3D services.

Powered by TiVo, the service will be available from Dec. 1 to Virgin's 3.7 million cable subscribers, promising an easy-to-navigate screen guide, on demand programming and web apps.

Virgin's digital entertainment boss Cindy Rose said that combining all the television services -- which it currently offers anyway -- with new web functionality into a single set top box would change the way that viewers interacted with television.

"For the first time, viewers will have a truly personalized viewing experience so they can get the most out of the wonderful worlds of the Internet and TV all in one place."

YouView, the time-shifted TV service backed by the U.K.'s biggest terrestrial broadcasters including the BBC, is expected to launch next year, while BSkyB's