BBC Wins Support For Open VOD Standard, Will Share iPlayer With Rivals
This story was written by Robert Andrews.
UK commercial TV leader ITV (LSE: ITV) and telco BT (NYSE: BT) are signing up to a BBC project to create an open standard for delivering on-demand video over broadband to living room TVs. They are joining Project Canvas, under which the BBC wants to mobilise content makers, ISPs and set-top box manufacturers to develop a common platform for access both to broadcast and on-demand internet video. The trio want the platform to be available to anyone, paving the way to possible inclusion of disparate video services like Joost and Babelgum on a single box in the living room, alongside broadcast TV. See full post on paidContent:UK
Also today, the BBC suggested several ideas to media regulator Ofcom for propping up the UK's ailing commercial public service broadcasters, including ITV, Channel 4, S4C and Five. It pledged to make the technology of its iPlayer seven-day web catch-up service available to the others, leading to a possible "federation" of UK VOD services. It promised to link out to rival media more and syndicate its content to newspapers. It also offered to create a shared digital video archive with the others and proposed a range of other partnership options, saying it could save rivals 120 million ($179 million) a year. It all portends a new era of partnership at the public service TV level, but commercial VOD project Kangaroo has been blocked by the UK's antitrust authority. See full post on paidContent:UK
By Robert Andrews