[Update: Dec. 30] Sky Sports red button service not working on Virgin Media? Issue is known and under investigation

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on April 21, 2021) follows:

Sky Sports Red Button service lets viewers access interactive content in certain events and is especially useful for football fans thanks to the different camera angles it can unlock with just a press of a button.

As the name indicates, pressing the red button on the remote of some Sky boxes allows one to access the red button service.

That said, it appears that some Sky Sports viewers on Virgin Media are unable to use the red button service on their TVs for several hours.

We’ve shared some reports from disgruntled users below:

@virginmedia trying to load the red button on skysports channels all I get is a black screen nothing else? (Source)

@Virginmedia fix the b screen when I press the red button on any sky sports channel (Source)

@virginmedia sort out the red button on sky sports football not working for the other games (Source)

Reports of the problem have been flowing in for hours. According to users, pressing the red button on Sky Sports only displays a loading or ‘Please wait’ screen.

Some even say that they can see a black screen after pressing the red button.

Whatever the case, hours after reports started flooding Twitter, Virgin Media has finally acknowledged the red button not working issue on Sky Sports via a series of responses to several complaints.

Here’s what the company has to say with regards to the problem:

According to Virgin Media, the company is working with Sky to fix the red button not working issue. However, the company has failed to share an ETA for the fix.

As usual, we will keep track of the situation and will post an update if and when there are any further developments.

05:39 pm (IST): Some Sky Sports subscribers are now reporting (1, 2, 3, 4) that the Red button is not working for them yet again.

@virginmedia no red button on skysports for 60 mins #redbutton #skysports #efl See-no-evil monkeyFace with symbols over mouth (Source)

Yes. But this happens every time. Others I know have the same issue on red button with virgin, so not just me. Really isn’t good enough. (Source)

State of @virginmedia Red Button. Wait 40 minutes for it to even work, and then there’s no audio. It’s not my connection, or my internet, it’s just Virgin being crap. (Source)

On the brighter side, Virgin Media has acknowledged the issue and they are working to resolve it.

12:50 pm (IST): Sky Sports subscribers are once again reporting (1,2,3) the issue where the red button is not working on Virgin Media services.

Fortunately, Virgin Media is aware of the issue and the team is looking into it.

Hi Lesley, we do apologise. Our team are looking into this and we’ll have it sorted ASAP
Source

04:45 pm (IST): Sky Sports users can’t seem to catch a break with the Red Button service. Many frustrated viewers have taken to Twitter to report that the Watford game has the Formula 1 commentary.

#SkySports – yet again commentary on the red button is wrong!!! Watford game has the Formula 1 show !!!! Sort it out Sky ! (Source)

@SkySports please sort comms out on the red button – Watford v LUTON has f1 comms (Source)

Some also say that the video remains blank. So all they hear is commentary from the F1 program.

04:43 pm (IST): Virgin Media on Twitter has acknowledged the issue with commentary on some Football games on Sky Sports red button and they are currently working to resolve it.

09:00 pm (IST): Sky Sports red button users are reportedly facing technical issues with the service. Some say that there’s no sound while others say that it’s it’s glitched out.

Sort it out @SkySports you’re match choice is shite picture and sound keeps going off #WBA (Source)

What the hell?? Apparently the 3pm blackout still applies at The Hawthorns! @SkyFootball@SkySports #rufc (Source)

05:58 pm (IST): Some Sky Sports users are still reporting that the red button service is not working for them.

08:52 am (IST): Virgin Media support team has acknowledged the ‘red button’ issue. They are working on a fix but there is no ETA yet.

In the meantime, you can use the Sky Sports app on a tablet or mobile device with your Virgin Media credentials to watch the matches. You can cast the Sky Sports app content to a Smart TV or similar as a temporary workaround.

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