Cable TV and broadband player UPC is to be renamed Virgin Media in Ireland, the company confirmed today (28 August).

UPC Ireland confirmed that all operations, products and services will move to the new Virgin Media brand.

UPC’s parent company Liberty Global acquired Virgin Media in 2013 in a deal valued at about US$23.3bn.

“We are delighted to bring the Virgin Media brand to Ireland,” Virgin Group founder Richard Branson said.

‘Building on the strong platform in Ireland, I know we will do great things together with Liberty Global and shake up the Irish market even further‎’

– RICHARD BRANSON

“We are proud of the way it has revolutionised the UK market, improving customer service, increasing speeds and bringing more choice to our customers.

“Building on the strong platform in Ireland, I know we will do great things together with Liberty Global and shake up the Irish market even further‎.”

UPC has more than 1.1m paying subscribers in Ireland, including more than 367,000 fibre broadband subscribers. The company’s entry into the mobile space as part of an MVNO deal with Three is imminent.

Virgin Media to invest in brand in Ireland

As reported in Siliconrepublic.com last year, moves were afoot to more closely align UPC Ireland with UK’s Virgin Media.

As part of this, UPC Ireland CEO Magnus Ternsjö joined the Virgin Media executive committee, reporting to the CEO of Virgin Media Tom Mockridge. Ternsjö’s predecessor in the role of heading up the Irish operations, Dana Strong, last year became chief operations officer of Virgin Media in the UK

Last month, UPC acquired Irish broadcaster TV3 for €87m.

“Introducing the Virgin Media brand to Ireland is a big investment in our business and our future,” UPC Ireland CEO Magnus Ternsjö said.

“In almost every corner of the world, the Virgin brand is famous for its entrepreneurial spirit in delivering more for customers, which is exactly what we’re going to do by building even further on all our innovation and achievements to date.”