Newly-formed Virgin Media is looking for partners to run a sports news channel on its cable service after it dropped Sky Sports News in a dispute with BSkyB, a source familiar with the matter said.
The source told Reuters on Thursday that it was an area of major interest and it would be looking for partners to provide the content. Rights to show Premier League soccer are currently held by BSkyB and Irish group Setanta.
Any tie-up between Virgin Media and another group could potentially result in the companies putting in a joint bid for content rights.
"They are looking at (a channel, and) I don't think Virgin Media is adverse to bidding for sporting rights with partners," the source said.
Virgin Media, which launched in February from the merger of NTL-Telewest and Virgin's mobile phone division, is looking to provide a stronger challenge to dominant pay-TV operator BSkyB.
BSkyB owns the rights to broadcast two-thirds of 138 live top-flight matches for the next three years, including the coveted "A" package of matches such as Manchester United against Arsenal, an offer which has proved hugely popular to viewers.
Setanta owns the remaining third.
The group which has Rupert Murdoch as its chairman withdrew its basic channels which included Sky Sports News, Sky News and Sky One from the Virgin Media platform at the start of this month following a dispute over carriage fees.
A second source told Reuters that Setanta was always looking to improve its offering to cable customers but that no deal was imminent.
Virgin Media combined in January with Setanta, Top Up TV and BT Group to complain to media regulator Ofcom over BSkyB, accusing it of suppressing competition within the industry.
Ofcom said on Tuesday it would investigate the pay-TV industry and consider whether to refer it to the Competition Commission.
