Virgin Media’s rebranding of the old NTL looks in danger of being labelled a case of the Emperor’s new clothes.
In an SEC filing at the end of last week, filed with almost indecent haste following the company’s first quarter results, Franklin Mutual, which has this year built a 9.4 per cent stake to become Virgin Media’s second largest shareholder, said: “In view of the results for the first quarter 2007 announced by the issuer on May 9, 2007, FMA may initiate discussions with the issuer regarding, among other things, the issuer’s strategic direction, corporate governance and management, and to communicate from time to time with the issuer’s executive management and board of directors and with other holders of the common stock regarding such matters.”
Virgin last week said that despite a heavily promoted four-pronged assault on its market – comprising pay-TV, fixed line, mobile and broadband – it was still struggling amid strong competition from rivals BSkyB and Carphone Warehouse. Take-up of the much-hyped “quadruple play” has been slow in spite of a rebranding and a £25m marketing campaign in February.
Total customer numbers fell by 46,900 during the three months to March, as intense competition bit and a row with BSkyB resulted in some channels being taken off Virgin Media’s service.