Project Canvas 'to launch within a year'

[khurramdar]

Project Canvas 'to launch within a year'

Friday, February 26 2010, 10:48 GMT

By Andrew Laughlin,

Project Canvas, the BBC-led joint venture to upgrade the Freesat and Freeview platforms with video on-demand services, is reportedly targeting a commercial launch within the next 12 months.

According to BT Vision chief executive Marc Watson, the project - which also includes ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT and TalkTalk among its members - will firstly target the 10 million households with Freeview on their main set.

Speaking at the Media Summit conference yesterday in London, Watson said that the open technical standards required for third-party developers to create services for the Canvas platform will be published in the summer, reports The Guardian.

He also revealed that BT is hoping to use Canvas to vastly increase its profile as a triple-play provider of phone, broadband and digital TV/VOD services.

Also speaking at the summit, ITV group marketing director David Pemsel said that all Canvas partners are "on the same page" with the launch schedule.

He added that an important aspect of the technical development will be the creation of a Canvas electronic programming guide which can provide effective navigation and viewer preference data.

"There is a brand, and we are beginning to work, full steam ahead, towards a consumer launch," said Pemsel.

Watson confirmed that Canvas will support both free-to-air and pay-TV content, while the platform would also generate an income from targeted advertising to interested viewers.

He revealed that a management firm, named The Venture, would operate the Canvas platform as a neutral player. Should Sky wish to get involved in the project, it would need to apply directly to the body, which would assess the situation neutrally without considering corporate issues.

Sky has long criticised Canvas, particularly in regards to the potential use of public money to distort the nascent market for IPTV services.

However, Nokia vice president of industry collaborations Mark Selby expressed doubt as to whether Canvas would prove a success, largely because it is viewed as a solution to industry problems rather than a quest to meet consumer needs.

He said: "To succeed, any venture has to pass the PSSS test. It must solve a problem, it has to be simple to use, be scaleable and sustainable."