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The BBC has finally been given permission to continue full steam ahead with Project Canvas after getting the nod from the BBC Trust.
Project Canvas is a joint venture to bring internet-video services to television that includes Carphone Warehouse, the BBC, Channel 4, BT, Five, and ITV. It has been officially under review since February of 2009.
The aim of the project is to offer on demand video to subscribers over broadband. Its largest opponent has been BSkyB which is owned by the News Corporation.
This morning the BBC Trust is expected to announce that it will offer its support. In order to get the Canvas technology consumers will need to purchase new set-top boxes priced at about ?200 that should become available by the end of 2010.
A source close to Project Canvas stated that the decision will be positive although it will come with conditions. However, the source stated that the conditions will not be too large or confining.
Canvas will offer up content to users from NHS Direct, LoveFilm, possibly Hulu, and the BBC iPlayer. Additional organizations that want to add access to their content will be welcome to submit application designs that users can shop in much like the Apple app store.
The announcement of approval will welcome the wrath of Virgin Media and Sky who have insisted that it discriminates against pay per use TV operators and that it will not offer anything new on the market that currently is not already available on the commercial market.
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
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A new IPTV venture Project Canvas, would allow people to catch on demand services at their pleasure on the BBC iPlayer as well as view internet content on their television sets. The new venture has now recruited two major ISPs and all public services broadcasters for the IPTV project.
The ISPs are the latest two additions to the scheme, which previously had four companies signed up, with each investing over ?16m in the project. The BBC anticipates that the entire cost to all partners will be about ?16m over the course of the next four years.
Until now, Channel 4 had been holding out against joining into the IPTV project stating economic reasons, but after taking a more thorough evaluation of the project Director of Strategy Gill Pritchard for the channel stated that now is the time to get on board.
Pritchard stated that IPTV will be the new direction of television and that if Channel 4 wants to increase its presence in the programming world it needs to be involved in Project Canvas.
Project Canvas responded to the new additions by stating they are still look for more partners and that any interested parties are welcome to submit proposals.
The group stated that ideally all prospective partners will receive equal shares in the creation of the new IPTV company.
Programme director for Program Canvas, Richard Halton stated that the internet will revolutionize the way that people view television and that by putting broadcast and broadband side by side Project Canvas will open up a new platform that will help secure the fate of public broadcasting.
Filed under: Broadband News and Reviews by Alan
