Beeb and co offload failed Kangaroo platform
Arqiva to buy forsaken commercial TV web platform
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Telly networks BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 confirmed plans yesterday to ditch an unsuccessful attempt to provide a commercial internet TV service in the UK, by agreeing to sell the platform to Arqiva Ltd.
The Competition Commission kiboshed the trio's Kangaroo Project, which was based on the Beeb's iPlayer technology, in February this year. The antitrust watchdog ruled the three networks bankrolling it would have too much power in that market.
Winchester, England-based Arqiva said in a statement it expected the kit and caboodle (hardware, software, intellectual property) acquisition to complete within the next few weeks.
The firm, which owns and operates the UK's terrestrial TV infrastructure and holds licences of two of the six digital terrestrial TV multiplexes, added that the tech purchase would allow Arqiva to expand its business into the web TV market.
"Arqiva plans to use the Project Kangaroo platform assets to launch a new video-on-demand service to UK consumers in the coming months," it said.
"The platform will aim to host top-end quality content from leading broadcasters and independent content providers to provide a broad range of user experiences to its audiences."
Arqiva says that both free-to-air and pay content schemes will be offered.
BBC Worldwide, which is the commercial arm of Auntie, wrote off a hefty £9.1m of investment in the ill-fated Project Kangaroo in the year ended 30 April. ®
COMMENTS
Project Phoenix?
This is an excellent and cunning approach by the parties involved.
You can't launch an 'Anti-competitive' VoD platform that you've spent money developing.
You sell it to a 3rd party (one which is mainly interested in the broadcast of content supplied by content producers, rather than producing content themselves).
That 3rd party renames it Project Wallaby then offers it as an ideal VoD platform to broadcasters who then don't have to maintain loads of infrastructure, and pay a rental or 'maintenance' fee to add & serve content to it.
Everyone's happy, other than Murderock, who renames 'Anytime' to 'Pademelon' which everyone continues to ignore, despite constant and excessive marketing to the subscriber base.
Huh?
"which was based on the Beeb's iPlayer technology"
Thats just made up, unless your saying its was VOD, but so is YouTube and it was no more based on YouTube then it was on iPlayer.
As to the CC, i SO wonder who bribed them.
Yay! The kangaroo lives!
:D
Perfect solution, let's see how this goes now, I guess that Sky and Virgin will go wining to their friends at Offcom in the next week or so. Let's hope Offcom will tell them to shut the hell up.
If Sky can't compete they are doing something very wrong, if anything their platform needs to be opened up to other billing companies. Their stance that the other networks should not own a platform and channels is as sickening as their other business practices.
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