--- title: "Freely vs Virgin Media: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is Freely or Virgin Media more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the TV providers set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/freely-vs-virgin-media" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Freely vs Virgin Media: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is Freely or Virgin Media more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the TV providers set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: Freely and Virgin Media - **Competitive set**: TV providers - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **Freely Share of Search**: 3.1% - **Virgin Media Share of Search**: 1.9% ## Is Freely or Virgin Media more popular in search? - In September 2026, Freely had more branded searches than Virgin Media among TV providers in the United Kingdom. Freely had about 27,100 branded searches, while Virgin Media had 17,100. Freely made up 3.1% of all TV provider searches we track, and Virgin Media accounted for 1.9%. - The lead changed hands 2 times in the 12 months ending September 2026: Virgin Media took it in February 2026, Freely took it in March 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Freely’s share of searches among TV providers in the United Kingdom moved from 7.2% to 3.1%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 74K to 27.1K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Virgin Media’s share of searches among TV providers in the United Kingdom moved from 6.7% to 1.9%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 69.5K to 17.1K. ## Top TV providers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Virgin Media appeared in all five answers. Freely was mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Virgin Media was listed before Freely in four out of five answers. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sky | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Virgin Media | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | EE | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | NOW | 4th | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | BT | 5th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Freely | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Freeview | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about TV providers - Asked ChatGPT "Which TV provider should I choose in the UK?": 1. Sky, 2. NOW, 3. Freely, 4. Virgin Media, 5. EE, 6. BT - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best TV providers in the UK?": 1. Sky, 2. Virgin Media, 3. EE, 4. NOW, 5. Freely, 6. Freeview, 7. BT - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best value TV and broadband package in the UK?": 1. Virgin Media, 2. EE, 3. Sky, 4. NOW - Searched Google, AI Overview "tv packages": 1. Sky, 2. Virgin Media, 3. EE, 4. BT, 5. Freeview, 6. NOW - Searched Google, AI Overview "broadband and tv": 1. Sky, 2. Virgin Media, 3. EE, 4. BT, 5. NOW Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom TV providers in September 2026? - Freely’s share of searches among TV providers in the United Kingdom has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 7.5% to 3.1% in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Virgin Media in the United Kingdom fell 75.4% over 12 measured months, from 69.5K to 17.1K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | Freely estimated searches | Freely Share of Search | Freely rank | Virgin Media estimated searches | Virgin Media Share of Search | Virgin Media rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 74K | 7.2% | 4 | 69.5K | 6.7% | 5 | | Nov 2025 | 74K | 6.3% | 4 | 56.8K | 4.9% | 5 | | Dec 2025 | 90.5K | 8.2% | 4 | 28.2K | 2.5% | 5 | | Jan 2026 | 40.5K | 3.8% | 4 | 18.6K | 1.7% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 33.1K | 3.2% | 5 | 33.6K | 3.2% | 4 | | Mar 2026 | 27.1K | 2.6% | 5 | 26.1K | 2.5% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 27.1K | 2.6% | 4 | 18.6K | 1.8% | 6 | | May 2026 | 60.5K | 5.7% | 4 | 29.5K | 2.8% | 5 | | Jun 2026 | 60.5K | 7.5% | 4 | 15.7K | 1.9% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 33.1K | 3.8% | 4 | 16.4K | 1.9% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 33.1K | 3.3% | 4 | 19.3K | 1.9% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 27.1K | 3.1% | 4 | 17.1K | 1.9% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Freely’s and Virgin Media’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **Freely**: Measured on the search term “freely tv”. - **Virgin Media**: Measured on the search terms “virgin media tv”, “virgin media tv packages” and “virgin tv”, summed into one figure. - [Freely profile](/demand/uk/brands/freely) - [Virgin Media profile](/demand/uk/brands/virgin-media) - [All TV providers in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-tv-providers): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Freely or Virgin Media more popular in search? In September 2026, Freely had more branded searches than Virgin Media among TV providers in the United Kingdom. Freely had about 27,100 branded searches, while Virgin Media had 17,100. Freely made up 3.1% of all TV provider searches we track, and Virgin Media accounted for 1.9%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Freely vs Virgin Media: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/freely-vs-virgin-media This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/freely-vs-virgin-media. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.