Virgin Media and BSkyB in talks over channels dispute

LONDON (Reuters) - Cable operator Virgin Media (VMED.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has held talks recently with satellite pay-TV group BSkyB (BSY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) over returning the Sky channels to the cable platform, Virgin Chief Executive Neil Berkett told Reuters.

BSkyB pulled its channels off the Virgin platform last year in a very public spat after the two sides failed to agree terms for a deal.

Both groups have appointed new chief executives since that decision however and Berkett said there had been more dialogue in the last two or three months than before.

"It's fair to say that with a change at the top of both organizations, there is a dialogue and there's no sort of emotional legacy that would hold us back," he said in an interview.

(Reporting by Kate Holton)