Virgin Media has said it is considering its options after losing the licence for one of its shopping channels on Freeview.

Last month, reports on the Digital Spy forums suggested that Sit-up - part of Virgin Media's content division - had been outbid for its slot on multiplex A, operated by ITV subsidiary SDN. Sit-up currently has two slots on the multiplex: one, currently used for Bid TV, is available 24 hours a day in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland but only for limited hours in Wales; the second, currently used for Price Drop TV, is available for 24 hours across the entire country.

Today, Virgin said: "In September 2008, our Sit-up business received notification that one of its two licenses to broadcast over free-to-air digital terrestrial television (Freeview) would not be renewed in January 2009. In the fourth quarter, management is reviewing the implications of this development on our business model and considering alternative courses of action."