Love Island fans could miss out on the final as ITV and Virgin Media dispute heats up

It is understood that channels could be pulled off-air as early as this weekend
Love Island blackout: ITV2 could be pulled from Virgin Media as early as this weekend
ITV
Natasha Sporn26 July 2018

Thousands of Love Island fans could lose access to ITV2 days before the grand final due to a dispute between Virgin Media and ITV.

Four million paying customers are at risk of losing the ITV slate of channels as the dispute between the companies threatens to reach a new level, according to The Guardian.

While the future of flagship channel ITV is unclear, it is thought that channels like ITV2, 3 and 4 – which house sporting coverage – could be pulled from the guide as early as this weekend.

And with the talk of the summer set to conclude on Monday with a live final, thousands of fans may be forced to skip out on watching Caroline Flack crown the winners of Love Island 2018.

Loved up: Virgin Media customers could see Love Island's golden couple missing from screen 
ITV

Four sources have confirmed to the publication that an “ultimatum” letter has been sent to Virgin Media by ITV outlining the potential next steps.

The dispute was put on the backburner for some months while Carolyn McCall took the reins at the network.

But it is thought that Virgin Media’s decision to axe the entire UKTV portfolio from their service last weekend has provided ITV an opportunity to “apply pressure”.

Love Island 2018: Series 4 - In pictures

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The two media companies have been at loggerheads for some time now but it is understood that talks broke down on Saturday, leading to Virgin Media’s decision.

A spokesperson for Virgin told The Guardian: "All ITV channels remain live on Virgin TV and we have no intention of removing them."

ITV declined to comment when contacted.

During the 95-minute show on Monday, the loved-up couples will hope to come top of the public vote and be crowned as the winning couple, scooping the cash prize.

However, the top boy and girl will then face one more test of their relationship with the option to split or steal the prize pot.

If both chose split, it is £25,000 each. If one chooses to keep all the cash for themselves, they walk away with the whole lot. If they both want to keep the jackpot to themselves then we assume both would go home empty handed.

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