The launch of Freesat, the free satellite TV service provided by the BBC and ITV in the UK, proved popular with online consumers during its launch week. UK Internet traffic to www.freesat.co.uk, the service’s online homepage, increased by 627% between the weeks ending May 3rd and May 10th, while UK Internet searches for the term ‘freesat’ increased by 752% over the same period, making it the fastest moving search term in the UK last week.

London - Richard Branson's Virgin Media U.K. pay-TV service announced on Thursday that it has stopped airing basic channels owned by rival News Corp.'s Sky service, after the companies failed to renegotiate a carriage agreement.