Virgin Media Television

We want our viewers to have the best viewing experience. Sometimes however a viewer may feel that a particular broadcast is contrary to our obligations under the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act (the “Act”) /or contrary to any of the broadcasting codes listed below. If you feel this is the case, and you would like to make a complaint, details on how to do this are set out below.

Please be aware that the Act which came into effect on 15 March 2023 established the new Coimisiún na Meán replacing the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. This Code may be subject to further updates, or amendments when Coimisiún na Meán issues new guidelines and directions to broadcasters in the area of complaint handling.

At Virgin Media Television we aim at all times to deliver the best service possible to viewers. As part of this service we are always interested in feedback from our viewers that may enable us to improve our service. To give general feedback on our programming, please contact us on vmtvinfo@virginmedia.ie or by writing to:

Virgin Media Television
					Westgate Business Park
					Ballymount
					Dublin 24

This Code of Practice only deals with specific categories of complaints, as outlined herein.

1. What can I complain about?

If you believe that a broadcast on Virgin Media Television has breached one of the following, you may submit a complaint to us:

i. Harm, offence, incitement, and authority of the State (section 46J of the Act)

We will ensure that our programming does not contain material that may be reasonably regarded as a) causing harm or undue offence, b) promoting or inciting crime, c) promoting, or inciting terrorism, d) inciting violence or hatred against a group of persons or e) undermine the authority of the State.

ii. Privacy (section 46K of the Act)

We will ensure that the privacy of any individual is not unreasonably encroached on, in our broadcast of programmes or in the means employed of making programmes.

iii. News and current affairs (section 46L of the Act)

News

We will ensure that our news programming is objective and impartial and that it does not contain any expression of our own views.

Current Affairs

We will ensure that our current affairs programmes are objective and impartial and do not contain any of our own views and that we will treat the subject matter and all interests concerned fairly.

iv. Advertising (sections 46M(2) or (3), 106(3) and 127(6)of the Act)

We will ensure that advertisements are not directed towards a political end, will not relate to an industrial dispute, or will not address the merits of adhering to any religious faith or belief, or of becoming a member of any religion or religious organisation.

It is important to be aware that complaint matters related to advertising can also be made to the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI).

v. Codes

Existing regulatory broadcasting Codes as put in place by the Broadcasting Authority remain in place If you feel we have breached one of these Codes you can also make a complaint to us. Please find a list of the relevant codes set out below.

• News

  Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality.

• Programmes Standards

  Code of Programme Standards.

• Commercial Communications

  All commercial communications broadcast by Virgin Media Television are required to comply with the following Codes:

  General Commercial Communications Code

  Children's Commercial Communications Code

2. How do I make a complaint?

You can email vmtvcomplaints@virginmedia.ie, or by telephone on (01)4193333. A member of staff will attempt to resolve the matter effectively. If we are unable to successfully resolve the matter and you believe your complaint falls within one of the categories listed above, you should submit the following details in writing:

						Your name and address;
						The category under which you believe your complaint falls (as listed above);
						The date, time and channel of broadcast;
						The name of the programme/commercial communication that is the subject of your complaint; and
						The details of what in the broadcast caused you to make a complaint.
					

In order to assist viewers a complaint form can be downloaded from our website at: www.virginmediatelevision.ie

If your complaint does not contain all of the information required we cannot guarantee that it will be processed. Virgin Media Television does not accept complaints which we deem to be frivolous and/or vexatious in nature, nor will complaints using offensive or threatening language be responded to.

Virgin Media Television is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of individuals in accordance with applicable Data Protection legislation.

3. How soon should I make my complaint after the broadcast?

Please note the timelines for making a complaint under Act:

a) If a complaint relates to one broadcast the complaint must be made within 30 days of this broadcast;

b) If a complaint relates to two or more unrelated broadcasts on different dates, the complaint must be made within 30 days of the earliest broadcast; or

c) If a complaint relates to two or more related broadcasts on different dates, the complaint must be made within 30 days of the latest of these broadcasts.

Complaints submitted outside of these time periods will not be accepted.

4. What will happen to my complaint?

Virgin Media Television will give complaints made in good faith due and adequate consideration. When a complaint has been accepted by Virgin Media Television, we will work to resolve the issue in question, as efficiently as possible. An appropriate member of staff will:

Contact you to acknowledge receipt of the complaint within 7 days.

Consider the issues raised in your complaint and review the broadcast identified in your complaint.

If appropriate, we will contact any person to whom your complaint relates i.e. advertiser, producer, presenter, in order to allow them to provide their input into Virgin Media Television's response.

Will respond to your complaint within 21 days of receipt, and will, as far as practicable, address all issues raised in your complaint. The reasons for Virgin Media Television's decision will be set out in this response.

We shall keep all valid complaints accepted under this Code on file for a period of 2 years from the date of receipt.

5. What are the potential outcomes for my complaint?

Your complaint may be upheld or rejected by Virgin Media Television. If your complaint is rejected, it means we believe our broadcast was in compliance with our obligations listed in this Code of Practice.

Upholding a complaint means we believe that our programming did not meet our obligations.

If your complaint is upheld, we will attempt to resolve it to your satisfaction. The manner of resolution shall be decided on a case by case basis and may take the form of an apology, a correction, clarification and/or the offer of a rebuttal as appropriate.

6. What if I do not receive a response or am not satisfied with the response I receive?

If we have not responded to your complaint within 21 days or if you are not satisfied with our response you can then refer your complaint to Coimisiún na Meán. Coimisiún na Meán.can be contacted at:

						Complaints Officer
						Coimisiún na Meán
						2 - 5 Warrington Place
						Dublin 2 
						Website: www.cnam.ie
						Email: complaints@cnami.ie
						Online form: For now, complainants can continue to use the existing online complaints portal at: 
						bai.service-now.com/complaints.
					

7. Record of complaints

We are required to keep a record of all complaints submitted in accordance with this Code of Practice for a period of two years. We are also required to provide these records to Coimisiún na Meán, if the Commission requests them. Our records will include copies of your complaint, our response/s and the copies of the broadcast material in question.

8. Virgin Media Television reserves the right to alter this Code of Practice upon placing and revisions/alterations on this URL

If you have any further queries please contact Virgin Media Television on vmtvinfo@virginmedia.ie

Please include your name and postal address or email address below to ensure that Virgin Media Television can respond to your complaint:

Your Name *

Your Email / Postal Address

Details of your complaint:

Channel: Virgin Media One/Virgin Media Two/Virgin Media Three

Programme:

Date of broadcast:

Time of broadcast:

Is the complaint an infringement of:

Objectivity & Impartiality: Virgin Media Television News:

Objectivity, Impartiality & Fairness: Virgin Media Television Current Affairs:

Code of Programme Standards in regard to Harm and Offence:

Requirements regarding Privacy of complainant or Promotion of or Incitement to Crime or Undermining Authority of the State:

Commercial Communications Code:

Please give details of your complaint below:

 

Please prove you are not a robot.

For security reasons, we use Google's reCaptcha service to verify that this form is being submitted by a real person. The service requires all cookie types to be enabled but you have chosen not to give your consent to these cookies so we cannot submit the form. You can change your cookie settings for this site by clicking here.

The details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party.

Right of Reply

Where a person is of the opinion that their reputation has been impugned by an assertion of incorrect facts or information, they are entitled to seek a right-of-reply under Section 49 of the Broadcasting Act 2009. Please note that a Right of Reply is about the correction of incorrect facts or information; it does not provide for the broadcast of an alternative or contrary opinion.

Anyone wishing to exercise this right should contact Virgin Media Television in writing at the following address:

						Right of Reply Section
						Legal Department
						Virgin Media Television
						Westgate Business Park
						Ballymount
						Dublin 24
					

Any such request must be made within 21 days of the broadcast. The request should include the name of the programme, date and time of broadcast and should contain sufficient information to enable the identification of incorrect facts or information that are alleged to have occurred. Please note that broadcasters are not liable for any costs incurred by the requester of a Right of Reply in relation to such a request.

Virgin Media Television will decide whether to accept or refuse a request within 10 days of receipt. If the decision is to allow the right of reply Virgin Media Television and the requester will reach a decision with regard to manner of the broadcast of the right of reply.

If Virgin Media Television decide to refuse the request for a right of reply or the parties cannot reach an agreement regarding the form of right of reply the requester may appeal to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland by letter or email:

						Compliance Committee,
						Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
						2-5, Warrington Place,
						Dublin 2
						info@bai.ie
					

Any appeal should be made within 21 days or receipt of the refusal to grant a right of reply. The BAI's Right of Reply Scheme is available online.

These terms and conditions and the Virgin Media Television Site are governed by Irish law.

Feedback

Your Name *

Your Email Address*

Your Feedback *

* Required

Please prove you are not a robot.

For security reasons, we use Google's reCaptcha service to verify that this form is being submitted by a real person. The service requires all cookie types to be enabled but you have chosen not to give your consent to these cookies so we cannot submit the form. You can change your cookie settings for this site by clicking here.

The details you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited email, and will not be sold to a 3rd party.

Data Protection Officer, Virgin Media Television, Westgate Business Park, Ballymount, Dublin 24.

Your Name *

Your Email Address*

Your query*

* Required

Please prove you are not a robot.

For security reasons, we use Google's reCaptcha service to verify that this form is being submitted by a real person. The service requires all cookie types to be enabled but you have chosen not to give your consent to these cookies so we cannot submit the form. You can change your cookie settings for this site by clicking here.

This section will be used to capture information about Access Services issues on television programmes. It has been designed to try and capture as much information as possible about the problem which should give the broadcaster and platform provider a better chance of resolving the issue.

This is a pilot programme which has been developed by the BAI, broadcasters and platform providers. The programme will be developed over time based on feedback from all stakeholders.

We will require some personal information to allow the broadcaster contact the viewer for further information. In line with GDPR requirements, this information will only be used for this complaint and will be deleted afterwards.

This section asks you to provide information about yourself, the programme you watched and how you watched it. You can only complain about a programme broadcast on a channel listed in the Access Rules. These channels are:

RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, RTÉ One + One, RTÉjr, RTÉ News Now
						Virgin Media One ,Virgin Media Two, Virgin Media Three
						TG4
						Eir Sport
						Oireachtas TV
						Cork Community Television
						Dublin Community Television

You cannot complain about programmes on BBC, ITV etc.

1. Personal Information

Please provide some information about yourself. You do not have to provide all the information requested.

If you wish to be contacted by text only, please click this box

Your Name

Contact telephone number

Your address

Email address

2. Programme Information

Please provide the following information about the programme.

What was the name of the programme?

When was the programme broadcast? Please provide the date and time.

What channel was the programme on?

Choose from this list RTÉ One RTÉ Two RTÉjr RTÉ News Now RTÉ One + One Virgin Media One Virgin Media Two Virgin Media Three TG4 Eir Sport Oireachtas TV Cork Community Television Dublin Community Television

What language were the subtitles in?

Choose from this list English Irish

Please provide some information about the complaint, eg. there were no Audio Description, the subtitles stopped half way through the programme etc. The more information that you provide the easier it will be for the broadcaster or platform provider to find the cause of the problem.

3. How you viewed the programme

Did you watch the programme on a television set?

Choose Yes or No Yes No

If you selected “Yes” from the drop down list above please proceed to question 4.

If you selected “No” please go to question 5.

4. Viewed programme on a television set

Please enter the manufacturer and model of the television set in the box below (eg Sony, Panasonic)

Manufacturer

Model

4.1 Did you watch the programme as it was broadcast, on a catch up service (eg RTE Player), or record it for viewing at a later time?

Choose from the following list

Choose from this list Live Recorded for later viewing Catch up service

If you chose “Live” or “Recorded for later viewing” then go to question 4.2.

If you chose “Catch up service” then please provide the name of the catch up service in the box below.

Please go to question 6.

4.2 Did you stream the programme via the broadcaster’s website on your television set?

Choose from the following list

Choose Yes or No Yes No

If you selected “No” please go to question 4.3.

If you selected “Yes” please proceed to question 6.

4.3 Did you receive the programme through the television, eg. built in Saorview, or via an external set top box, eg. Sky, Virgin Media etc?

Select your programme provider from this list

Choose from this list Saorview built in to TV Saorview set top box Saorsat set top box Sky box Virgin Media box Vodafone TV box Eir Vision box Free to Air/Combo box Other

If you selected “Free to Air/Combo box” or “Other” from the drop down list above please provide the manufacturer and model number in the box below.

Manufacturer

Model

5. Did not view programme on a television set

You have said that you did not watch the programme on a television set. Please choose from the list below the device that you watched the programme on.

Choose from this list PC Laptop Tablet Mobile phone

Please specify the make and model of the device.

Manufacturer

Model

6. Final question

Please provide the name of your internet provider in the box below

 

Please prove you are not a robot.

For security reasons, we use Google's reCaptcha service to verify that this form is being submitted by a real person. The service requires all cookie types to be enabled but you have chosen not to give your consent to these cookies so we cannot submit the form. You can change your cookie settings for this site by clicking here.