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BBC Trust gives Project Canvas provisional go ahead

BBC Trust gives Project Canvas provisional go ahead

BBC

The BBC Trust has given a provisional green light to Project Canvas, the BBC’s joint venture with ITV, BT, Five, Channel 4 and TalkTalk.

The corporation’s governing body has released its provisional conclusions following a review of the internet TV project, which would make services such as the iPlayer available via a television set.

However, it is expected to have a further consultation period until February and has proposed some conditions on the BBC’s participation in the project.

Diane Coyle, chair of the Trust’s Strategic Approvals Committee, said: “After careful consideration, the Trust has provisionally concluded that Canvas is likely to benefit licence fee payers. We believe Canvas could be an important part of the way in which the BBC delivers its services in the future.”

The Trust ruled that Canvas will assist the growth of VoD TV and increase opportunities for internet service providers to develop triple play services, which would include phone, TV and broadband.

However, it also found that Canvas could have a negative impact on the growth of pay TV and would contribute to the failing DVD rental market.

As such, it has set out a number of conditions of the BBC’s involvement, which include:

  • The core technical specification must be published well in advance to allow manufacturers to adapt to the Canvas standard
  • Other content providers must have access to the platform
  • Any quality standards for internet service providers must be applied on a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory basis
  • A Trust review, 12 months after its launch, will assess the effects Canvas has on the partner’s incentives to syndicate their content to other platforms
  • The platform must remain accessible without a subscription
  • The BBC must return for further approval if costs exceed those projected by more than 20% in any one year
  • The BBC must report on whether the proposed accessibility features, such as audio description, have been incorporated. The Trust will review the signposting of content and parental controls

A range of set-top boxes, which will provide access to on-demand TV services such as ITV player, are likely to be made available next year.

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