Virgin Media in talks to offer Sky Atlantic

UK cable operator Virgin Media is in talks to offer its customers the new channel Sky Atlantic. However, BSkyB is neogtiating sharply on the cost of showing the channel. The BSkyB chief operating officer Mike Darcey warned Virgin Media subscribers who want to watch The Sopranos and Mad Men not to expect Sky Atlantic on their EPG any time soon. Darcey indicated that Sky was in talks with Virgin Media about a carriage deal to get Sky Atlantic onto its cable TV service, the Guardian reports. But he implied that the two companies were some way off agreeing what Virgin Media might pay to carry Sky Atlantic, saying the cable company "would love Sky Atlantic and love it on the cheap". "I think it was offered at a very reasonable price," Darcey said. Sky Atlantic launched on the company's digital satellite TV service on 1 February, offering a lineup of US programming including the UK premieres of shows including Boardwalk Empire, Treme and Mildred Pierce. The channel also has access to the entire HBO back catalogue, including The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and will be showing the fifth series of Mad Men later this year. Darcey was speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild lunch.