Virgin Media and TiVo to launch iPad TV companion app in the UK

Customers will be able to control their set-top box from their tablet.

Virgin Media and TiVo have been working on an iPad app for the cable provider's UK digital TV customers, which is due for release in the next few months.

The app will enable people to control their TiVo-powered Virgin Media set-top box from their iPad, searching for programmes and content and then watching it on their TV. It follows the release of iPhone and Android apps fulfilling a similar function earlier this year.

"In less than a year since launch we are already building new features to offer our customers more ways to enjoy their service with an unprecedented user experience, and maintaining our position at forefront of technological innovation in TV," says Virgin Media executive director of digital entertainment Cindy Rose.

"The companion app and other forthcoming enhancements we are working on form part of our long term strategy to deliver the most dynamic and user friendly multi-screen entertainment experience in the UK."

For now, Virgin Media is sticking with apps as a way to control content being watched on a TV, rather than to actually watch shows on a smartphone or tablet. In the US, moves by cable companies to do the latter have sparked conflict with their broadcaster licensors.