14 DAY TRIAL // TV watching in the UK is about to be transformed with the announcement that Project Canvas, a joint project by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five and a couple of ISPs, has been approved by the BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC. Project Canvas aims to create a standard VOD, IPTV platform for use in the UK.
"The Trust has concluded that Project Canvas will deliver significant public value for licence fee payers - people with a broadband connection will be able to access a wide range of on-demand content including BBC iPlayer, free of charge, through their TV sets. We have however applied a number of conditions to the BBC's involvement in the venture in recognition of the potential impacts on the market if Canvas is successful," BBC Trustee and Chair of the Trust's Strategic Approvals Committee, Diane Coyle, said.
Project Canvas will enable TV viewers in the UK to access on-demand and catch-up programming, as well as other Internet content on their TV sets. In some respects, it is very similar to Google TV. The four major TV networks in the UK have banded together in support of the platform. It also enjoys the support for ISPs TalkTalk and BT, plus Arqiva, a telecommunications infrastructure company in the UK.
The project was spearheaded two years ago by the BBC, which wanted a standard platform to avoid a battle between providers that would confuse consumers. It took the BBC Trust a year to approve the project and the market has shifted somewhat in the meantime.
There are now several ‘universal’ platforms vying to be the dominant player in the emerging market. Google TV is one of the most recent competitors and the one that looks the most promising. But CE manufacturers have also pushed their own products. Of course, cable providers have yet another offering. To a degree, even Yahoo is competing with its TV Widgets platform. It remains to be seen how successful Project Canvas will be.