Dan Howdle | September 27th, 2023

Virgin Media Bigger Bundle review 2023

Virgin Media Bigger Bundle

The Virgin Media Bigger Bundle is now two steps away from Virgin's all-encompassing Ultimate Volt Bundle, with the new 'Biggest' bundle now sandwiched in between. It offers a great range of channels, bundled up with a broadband speed of your choice and free weekend calls.

The difference in each bundle level is primarily what TV channels you get. The Bigger Bundles offer 90+ more channels than the Big Bundles, including some Sky, Sport Lite, and Discovery and National Geographic channels. The Bigger Bundle used to include BT Sport (now renamed TNT Sports), but no longer does so after BT sold its sport offering to TNT. Let's take a closer look at the Bigger Bundle as a whole, though.

Key features

Here’s a quick look at what you can expect to find with Virgin Media's Bigger Bundle.

Price £39.50 per month
Broadband M125, M250, M350 or M500
TV channels 190+ channels
Phone Weekend calls
Box Virgin TV 360 Box
Router Hub 3 router
Contract length 18 months

Broadband

Until last year (2022), the Bigger Bundle came with one, standard broadband speed, which you could upgrade later on if you so desired. Now, (at the tail end of 2023) the distinction is no longer about broadband at all, it's about what channels you get with the bundle, which is a kicking off point from which you can then decide how fast you want your broadband.

M125, M250, M350 and M500 are all broadband speed options available with the Bigger Bundle, offering 132Mbps, 264Mbps, 362Mbps and 516Mbps respectively. If you're not sure which is the right speed for you then consider that the slowest speed (M125, at 132Mbps) is already twice as fast as the so-called 'superfast' broadband you see advertised by other providers. 132Mbps is plenty fast for even a busy household with a lot of TVs streaming content.

However, if you have a household full of gamers who frequently download new titles and updates, (you don't need fast broadband to actually play games online – latency is the main factor there) how fast you go will depend largely on how impatient you are waiting for such things to download.

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TV channels

If you’re a sports fan, this bundle has some good news for you, as you have access to Eurosport 1 and 2, both with HD versions, and you'll get Sky Sports News and Sky Sports Mix. Don't confuse the latter with the full 11-channel Sky Sports offering, mind. It's just a taster of the whole, and you'll still have to layer on a Sky Sports subscription (and TNT Sports subscription if you want 'all the sport') at substantial additional cost.

The Bigger Bundle package also contains all the Freeview channels (as you’d expect), so you will get BBC, ITV, Channel four and Channel 5, along with CBeebies and CBBC. There’s also Comedy Central, Sky One, MTV, SyFy, Sky Arts, Fox, Discovery, National Geographic, and more. You can also access Netflix – though an account is not included in the price – and various other app-based streaming services like BBC iPlayer, and YouTube through the Virgin TV 360 box you get with the bundle.

Equipment

TV 360 Box

With the Bigger Bundle, you get the Virgin TV 360 Box, plus you can add up to two Mini boxes which will enable you to watch and steam from all over your home. You can watch live TV, shows and recordings with a compatible tablet or smartphone around the house and you get the box for free when you sign up for the Bigger Bundle. To be perfectly honest, there’s a convincing argument that there is no better bit of kit – at least one that comes for free.

Hub 3 router

Virgin Media Hub 3.0

Where other providers will downgrade your kit, depending on which package you buy, Virgin have been clever in offering their best kit with almost all of its bundles.The only exception to this is Gig1, Virgin’s 1Gbps package, which is less widely available but which comes with a Hub 4 router to handle the extra speed.

Virgin are very proud of their DOCSIS 3 technology, which is basically the type of cable they’re using to make the internet happen in your house. While most companies still rely on copper cables, Virgin runs with something faster, and more reliable. This is how it aims to give the most reliable speeds and service. There’ll be glitches, like any other service, but what they’re offering is pretty great.

The idea is, with this new cabling, that it enables you to juggle more devices simultaneously, which means your hub won’t groan if you’re trying to stream from Spotify and Netflix at the same time, while the kids are in the kitchen watching Peppa Pig on the tablet.

There’s a landline too, if you still use one

If you still want the use of a landline phone, then the good news is that one is thrown in with this package. If you’re switching over from BT, you can keep your old phone number too.

As part of this package, you get unlimited weekend calls to landlines and numbers on Virgin Mobile, which is half decent.

Virgin will allow you to add more talk time to your plan, if that’s something you require. For example, you can add Talk More Weekends, which includes all UK mobiles into your allowance. There’s also a Talk More International Anytime offer, where you can stay in touch with family and friends who live overseas.

Conclusion

The thing that is going to swing this is whether you’re adamant you want the Sky Sports channels. Although Virgin offers its Ultimate Volt package which includes the Sky Sport channels, as do a few of the upgraded Big Bundle packages, the basic Bigger Bundle package doesn’t. However, if that’s of no concern, this is one of the best Virgin Media bundles, and is fantastic for a household that is looking for fast broadband, a quality DVR/set-top box, and some decent telly thrown in t'boot.

If broadband speed is your priority, then Virgin Media is the one to look at. If you’re streaming a lot of media and have multiple people in the house wanting to do the same thing, as well as gamers downloading regularly, you can select some very fast broadband that's going to keep the whole household happy.

To order by phone, call Virgin Media on
0333 210 1126

Lines open 8am-10pm Monday to Sunday

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