Project Canvas
Encyclopedia
YouView, formerly known as Project Canvas, is a proposed open, internet-connected television platform
in the United Kingdom
. The venture is a partnership between four broadcasters (BBC
, Channel 4
, Channel 5 and ITV plc
) and three communications companies (Arqiva
, BT
and TalkTalk
). The platform, which is planning a full launch in February 2012, will allow consumers access to a range of third-party services (television channels, radio stations, on-demand services
and internet content) using a compliant device (such as a set-top box
) built to a common technical standard and through a broadband internet connection. The project was branded YouView in September 2010.
There are three main elements to the project: setting the technical standard, building the technical platform, and creating the user experience
.
, a proposed video-on-demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide, ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD which was blocked on competition grounds and ended up as the SeeSaw
internet television service.
On 30 July 2009, Project Canvas announced that Five had signed up to the project. On 9 July 2010, Five announced that it would not pursue further involvement in Project Canvas, pending a review of its digital investment strategy. Charles Constable, Director of Strategy at Five said "We continue to support the objectives of Project Canvas and despite withdrawing our interest in the venture we believe it will be a critical part of our strategy for reaching consumers in the future." On 24 August 2010, Channel 5 re-joined Project Canvas, following their acquisition by Northern & Shell.
On 16 December 2009, Project Canvas announced that Channel 4 and TalkTalk had also signed up to the project.
The six partners invited any further expressions of interest from companies interested in becoming part of the joint venture. The canvas partners proposed that all prospective venture partners should be granted an equal proportion of shares in the new joint venture company. Interested parties had until 23 April 2010 to express their interest.
On 22 March 2010, transmission firm Arqiva joined as an equal partner in the project.
On 17 May 2010, then Project Canvas director Richard Halton said "We have also put out an invitation for an eighth partner and we would like a company that can add scale and expertise to the platform. It is a question of finding an organization that shares the aims of the venture." It was later reported that, Everything Everywhere
, the UK operations of Orange and T-Mobile
, had decided against joining, after holding advanced discussions.
launched a public consultation on the BBC Executive's proposal (Project Canvas) to develop a joint venture partnership to help enable the delivery of internet protocol television (IPTV), which would allow viewers to watch on-demand services, via television sets.
On 22 December 2009, the BBC Trust gave provisional approval to the BBC's involvement in Project Canvas after ruling that the likely public value of the proposal justifies any potential negative market impact. A period of consultation on the provisional conclusions closed on 2 February 2010. The BBC Trust has revealed that Project Canvas will cost over £115m in its first four years of operation.
On 25 June 2010, the BBC Trust gave final approval to the BBC's involvement in Project Canvas, stipulating a number of conditions. The Trust concluded that Project Canvas will deliver significant public value for licence fee payers. The Trust will review the BBC's involvement in Canvas against the conditions of its approval, twelve months after launch of Canvas to consumers.
The Digital TV Group
welcomed the decision and is working with the Canvas partners and Virgin Media, Sky and DTG members to develop the UK specification for Connected TV devices and services which will form the 7th edition of the DTG D-Book. A spokesman for Virgin Media
said: "We are disappointed the BBC Trust has approved Canvas and ignored the significant concerns raised by the commercial sector about the proposal. Our position on this matter remains unchanged. As it stands, Canvas will severely restrict competition and innovation and ultimately this will harm consumers." A spokesman for British Sky Broadcasting
said: "The BBC's involvement in Canvas is an unnecessary use of public funds. The BBC Trust's announcement is a predictable decision from a body that has shown little inclination to think independently or set meaningful boundaries on the BBC's activities."
The UK's Intellect Technology Association, said in a submission to the BBC Trust that Project Canvas risks isolating the UK as a "technological island" in a global market by trying to create a standard IPTV set-top box for just the UK.
British Sky Broadcasting
has continuously, strongly criticised the project funding, saying that public money will be used to give public service broadcasters a foothold in the valuable IPTV, to the disadvantage of "the private sector". BSkyB is likely to raise state aid complaints if it appears that the BBC is shouldering the costs of developing the venture for its partners. Sky estimates that it will lose four percent of revenue as a result of the project.
On 4 February 2010, The Guardian learned that in a submission to the BBC Trust as part of a final consultation on Project Canvas, the Digital TV Group
said that there is "widespread concern" that the venture's partners are developing critical technology standards that do not involve key players such as set top-box manufacturers and TV makers. The DTG argue that the BBC Trust's provisional approval document does not contain a "clear and unequivocal condition" that Project Canvas will have to work with industry and there appears to be a "parallel process" taking place where Project Canvas and its preferred technology partners are developing a separate standard.
Morgan Stanley
compiled a creative analysis for BT about the potential impact of Canvas, describing it as "Freeview 2.0". Morgan Stanley noted that the BBC Trust will reach a final decision on the BBC's Canvas involvement at the end of March. If it gives the full green light, then the platform could enter launch phase by the end of the year or in early 2011. However, Morgan Stanley noted that any launch date would be dependent on the completion of major technical work, such as locking down specifications with manufacturers and also creating a workable electronic programming guide. Morgan Stanley expects that Canvas set-top boxes will cost between £150 and £200. The report predicts that an App Store-style resource could be introduced to Canvas in the future, along with the integration of social networks such as Twitter
. As Canvas will be an open platform, the report noted that content providers would no longer need to pay the current sum of around £10m for capacity on digital terrestrial television
to reach their target audience. Internet service providers would also benefit from the service due an increased consumer demand for fixed broadband packages, along with greater opportunities to sell more expensive tariffs for high definition streaming. Storing popular programmes on local Canvas drives would also ease the burden of heavy streaming traffic over broadband networks. Considering outstanding issues facing the project, Morgan Stanley said: "Canvas looks pro-competitive (breaking down platform barriers for content owners), but some media companies could still try to challenge its creation. "It looks unlikely that this could freeze launch however as content is not being aggregated and the BBC shareholding will be only 16.6%."
On 4 March 2010, The Daily Telegraph
learned that Neil Berkett, Virgin Media
's chief executive, would tell the Cable Congress in Brussels "the BBC Trust's consultation has been a shameless whitewash that contravenes almost every principle of good regulation." Mr Berkett objects to proposals to force all broadcasters to use a single 'Project Canvas' brand controlled by the BBC and its partners, which he claims will penalise commercial rivals. "The BBC Trust has stubbornly ignored all requests to address our concerns by imposing safeguards to prevent the BBC emerging as de facto gatekeeper of the digital world. This is a blatant demonstration that the Trust is incapable of regulating the BBC's activities in an objective way." On 28 April 2010, Neil Berkett confirmed that Virgin Media had made a submission to the Office of Fair Trading over Project Canvas. "Canvas needs to be an open platform but it is closed and will require a [second] dedicated set-top box," said Berkett. "We will oppose it vigorously if it is not an open world at large for customers to take advantage of. [The current proposals] are asking pay-TV customers to buy a second set-top box." He added that he considered it a misuse of the licence fee to create a product that was not accessible to all the public. "It is funded by the BBC licence fee and should be available everywhere, on a Virgin Box, a PS3 and even a Sky box," he said. "I find it extraordinary that it looks like the BBC Trust is endorsing what is a closed product. It is inappropriate for the BBC to be doing this."
On 14 June 2010, Neil Berkett revealed to The Guardian that "Far from trying to block the development of these open standards, we have offered to work commercially with Canvas to explore mutually beneficial ways in which we could incorporate them as a self-contained service in the next generation of Virgin Media set-top boxes." Berkett went on to explain his opposition to the project; "The Canvas consortium has rejected the opportunity to incorporate Canvas into the Virgin Media customer experience, insisting that if we want to use their standards we must also accept that the entire Virgin Media entertainment service be accessed by our subscribers via a Canvas-imposed interface, including the Canvas channel listing and search facility. This "shop window" to services would be entirely controlled by the joint venture partners and would allow the Canvas partners to give preference and prominence to their own channel content above that of any other content provider. At this point, Canvas starts to look less like a set of genuinely "open" standards and more like a fully-fledged competing distribution platform from which established pay TV operators are effectively excluded, along with other innovative platforms offering a differentiated user experience, such as the PS3 and the Xbox. Unless we accept the Canvas consortium's conditions, people who want both Canvas and a pay TV service will have to buy two set-top boxes. Far from simplifying the digital world, Canvas will complicate it." On the BBC's involvement Berkett said: "Quite rightly, much attention has been focused on whether the BBC should be using the licence fee to bank-roll such a controversial intervention in a dynamic market. And it's true that many private sector companies are already investing precious capital in "connected TV". But it's the closed nature of the Canvas platform which gives the BBC's involvement significance. A set of standards that are genuinely open to all and to which the BBC has contributed is one thing. A proprietary gateway to the digital world, underpinned by the formidable brand and marketing muscle of the BBC, is quite another."
On 5 March 2010, in a Q&A session at the DTG Summit, Richard Halton, then programme director for Project Canvas, faced criticism from Digital TV Group members about the lack of published technical specifications for the platform. In response, he asked members to appreciate the "tough and pretty challenging" schedule exerted on the project. However, Halton acknowledged the DTG's desire for more effective engagement with Canvas, and committed to publishing the remaining key technical documents by the end of May.
On 19 April 2010, 3view managing director John Donovan has said that he is "concerned" about the potential market impact of IPTV joint venture Project Canvas. "The honest answer is that no-one has spoken to me from the BBC about what Canvas will entail. We do not understand what Canvas's remit will be and we do not subscribe to the belief that Canvas will provide something the commercial market can't. We have proved that we can do it," he told Digital Spy
. Donovan declined to be drawn on whether 3view would consider a legal challenge to Canvas, but did say that his business will defend its ability to compete in the market. "I think we would have to reserve comment [on possible legal action]. But at this stage, clearly, we will protect our business at all costs. And I think, we will just have to leave it there for the moment."
setting out why the proposed Canvas joint venture does not constitute a qualifying merger under the Enterprise Act 2002
. On 19 May 2010, the OFT confirmed that it would not investigate Project Canvas over competition issues. As none of the partners were contributing a "pre-existing business" to Project Canvas, the OFT ruled that it "did not have the jurisdiction" to investigate the venture on competition grounds. "Unlike in the Project Kangaroo joint venture which was blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009, it is not proposed that the joint venture partners will contribute any video-on-demand content or other business to [Project] Canvas, and Canvas will have no role in aggregating, marketing or directly retailing any such television content," said the OFT. The OFT also said that it found that none of the partners would have a "material influence" over the policy of the venture – the "lowest level of control that may give rise to a relevant merger situation".
claiming that Project Canvas is an anti-competitive cartel that will crush the nascent online TV market. The cable TV company, which is also calling on the Office of Fair Trading to step in on the grounds that the venture breaches the Competition Act, argues that the six partners backing Project Canvas have not stuck to their stated pledge of creating a set of open standards for delivering next-generation TV services. "Collectively the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 account for around two-thirds of all television viewing in the UK while BT and TalkTalk control over half the national broadband market," said Virgin Media. "[Project Canvas] will stifle future innovation as well as eliminate existing consumer choice for home entertainment. These well-resourced companies usually are direct competitors in their respective markets but... they are establishing a single new TV platform of their own with a considerable incentive to favour this over other TV services. This could severely affect consumer options for watching public service programming in the future."
Virgin Media has also complained that Project Canvas has wrongly rejected what the company considers fair offers of integrating the technology into its own set-top boxes with a compromise on user interface. "We have not taken the decision to file this complaint lightly," said a Virgin Media spokesman. "However, the Canvas partners have significantly exceeded their original claims to be creating a common set of open standards which could have been improved upon by others and are now intent on controlling every aspect of how people watch television."
On 18 August 2010, IP Vision formally complained to Ofcom, calling on the regulator to examine the impact Project Canvas will have on innovation, competition and consumer choice. IP Vision is challenging the validity of Project Canvas, under the 1998 Competition Act. The company has already challenged the BBC over support for BBC iPlayer
.
On 30 August 2010, Six TV
, the largest holder of analogue television restricted service licence
s in the UK (none of which are in use), announced that it would formally request a full Ofcom investigation of Canvas, warning that it could be a "poison pill" for regional broadcasters. Six TV will also submit its complaint regarding Canvas – which includes broader concerns regarding anti-competitive practices affecting digital television transmission in the UK – to the Office of Fair Trading. Six TV also intends to lobby communications minister Ed Vaizey. On 9 September 2010, United For Local TV an umbrella group which represents five local broadcasters with restricted service licenses (including Six TV), asked Ofcom to investigate the Project Canvas connected-TV venture on competition grounds. United For Local TV complained that qualification for including those services is “arbitrary”, fees are charged that are “unrelated to a service provider's ability to pay”, their channels would be hard to find on the EPG, the JV members may exploit viewer data “for commercial advantage” and Canvas could “prevent viewers from obtaining any streamed services on the open internet from TV channels who are unwilling or unable to meet the access terms.”
On 13 September 2010, the Open Source Consortium, a trade body for companies working in open standards software, submitted a formal objection to Ofcom asking it to investigate the project. In its submission to the media regulator, the OSC said that Canvas will have "adverse consequences" for the device and software sector by "diminishing consumer choice and causing inevitable consumer harm".
On 24 September 2010, ISBA - the trade body representing advertisers, joined a growing list of parties asking Ofcom to investigate YouView. ISBA director of media and advertising Bob Wootton believes that the project could represent a "quasi-monopoly". Wootton also claimed that the BBC Trust's recent consultation on Canvas/YouView was "insufficient" for a platform that would carry advertising.
On 28 September 2010, Electra Entertainment - a UK-based IPTV service provider, complained to media regulator Ofcom that YouView will "damage" the UK's interactive TV sector. Electra has developed an IPTV platform, called Trove, which brings rich media services to the TV screen. It is currently available on Tesco-branded Freeview set top boxes. Electra believes that "the proposed vision, shareholder structure and aims of YouView are anti-competitive and significantly damage the UK interactive TV market". The firm also claimed that YouView's estimated initial marketing budget of £48 million is a "major cause for concern amongst venture capitalists looking to fund competing private British businesses in this emerging broadband TV sector".
On 13 October 2010, British Sky Broadcasting submitted a last-minute complaint to Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading. The media regulator is now likely to delay a decision on whether to launch a full investigation into the service, previously called Project Canvas, while it considers Sky's objection. News of Sky's move prompted an angry reaction from the YouView chief executive, Richard Halton, "While we welcome justifiable scrutiny, the timing of this submission is clearly designed to extend the regulatory process in pursuit of commercial self-interest rather than the public interest", he said. Sky is believed to argue in its submission that the seven-partner YouView venture will stifle competition in the on-demand market.
On 19 October 2010, Ofcom announced that it will not open an investigation into Project Canvas (YouView) under the Competition Act following complaints made by Virgin Media and IPVision. Ofcom also received submissions from 11 other parties, including BSkyB.
The regulator said that it is "premature" to open an investigation into YouView, as "whether or not YouView and its partners will harm competition in the ways alleged will depend upon how this emerging market develops and how they act, particularly in relation to providing access to content and issuing technical standards". Ofcom noted that there is "little evidence" at this stage that YouView partners the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 plan to restrict access to their video on-demand content.
Ofcom do not propose to open a Competition Act investigation, however Ofcom will continue to monitor developments, particularly in relation to YouView’s approach to sharing standards and its effects on content syndication. If evidence emerges that the operation of YouView could cause harm to viewers and consumers in the future, Ofcom may reconsider whether to investigate.
's FutureMedia conference in London. The mock-up of how the Olympic Games
would look on Canvas allowed users to watch highlights instantly, send clips to friends, monitor what's being said on Twitter
, access archives at the touch of a button and use commercial third party applications and services.
Following the BBC Trust's provisional approval of the BBC's participation, the partners formed a new joint venture to develop the technical specification for devices with standards body the Digital TV Group
, create and market a new consumer brand, build a common user experience, and build the technology platform. All technical specifications must be clearly published to allow manufacturers to adapt to the new Canvas standard.
The BBC initially began working with three innovation partners (Technicolor SA, Humax
and Cisco Systems
) from the consumer device manufacturing sector on the development of the Canvas core technical specifications. The relationships have NDAs, non-binding collaboration agreements and agreements ensuring any IP the trio develop can be shared with the industry. On 5 March 2010, in a Q&A session at the DTG Summit, Richard Halton, then programme director for Project Canvas, confirmed that Canvas has direct collaboration relationships with various manufacturers and industry players - including Cisco, Technicolor, Humax, Intel Corporation
, LG Group
and Broadcom
- and Halton stressed that collaboration with the DTG is "absolutely critical" to the project's future success. On 13 May 2011, Technicolor left Youview.
The system will offer access to the broadcasters' own VOD, but has also promised to offer a software developers' kit (SDK) to encourage internet content on to the screen. Canvas has also promised to offer payment mechanisms to content owners that wish to charge for their content.
Speaking on 25 February 2010, BT Vision
chief executive Marc Watson, announced that the project is targeting a commercial launch within the next 12 months, initially aimed at the UK's 10 million Freeview households as a starting point. Open technical standards required for third-party developers to create services for the Canvas platform would be published in the summer. He added that a management group, called The Venture, would run the platform in a neutral, non-discriminatory way, and that should BSkyB wish to take part, it would apply to this body, which is not influenced by individual corporate considerations.
On 7 May 2010, Project Canvas submitted key documents to the Digital Television Group, making the next set of technical specifications available to industry. The publication of these documents is in addition to Project Canvas partners' active participation in the DTG Connected TV working groups. The result of this DTG work will be the publication of the UK Connected TV Specification: D-Book 7 by December 2010. In addition to the previously available Consumer Device Platform Specification and Broadcast Content Delivery Specification, further documents were published in the members' area of the DTG web site including the Consumer Device Software Management Specification, IP Content Delivery Specification and System Metadata Model.
On 6 July 2010, Project Canvas published information on its content protection strategy. Providers can choose to make content available with no protection at all, or adopt transport encryption, file encryption, device authentication, or digital rights management
(DRM). Conditional Access upgrade will also be possible for those who require it. For providers of premium content Canvas will support Marlin
as the required DRM solution, at launch, which has been developed over the past five years by Intertrust
, Panasonic, Philips
, Samsung
and Sony
. The selection of Marlin follows widespread industry engagement with content owners, content distributors, device manufacturers and internet service providers, from which it was concluded that a common DRM solution present on all devices at launch and widely supported by content providers would benefit all industry participants. Marlin is referenced in Release 1 of the Open IPTV Forum specifications and therefore has the potential to be widely adopted as a part of internet-connected TV device deployments worldwide.
On 11 August 2010, The Project Canvas partners formally invited expressions of interest from consumer equipment manufacturers to develop and bring Canvas devices to market in 2011. By the 25 August deadline, more than forty organisations had expressed their support for the Project Canvas, representing a broad range of consumer device manufacturers including set-top-boxes, internet-enabled TVs and recorders. Project Canvas is evaluating the responses, those that are selected will be taken through to the next stage of the evaluation process by the end of the September. The initial focus of Canvas is for twin tuner DTT
IP-connected DVR
. Project Canvas also welcomes a response from device manufacturers proposing other device categories such as internet-enabled TV (IETV) and set-top boxes. It is anticipated that Canvas devices will be made available to consumers though both retail channels and bundled with broadband packages.
The service will offer on-demand TV (from 4oD, BBC iPlayer
, Demand Five
, ITV Player
and SeeSaw
) and high-definition PVR capabilities without a monthly subscription fee, but will allow commercial broadcasters to use micro payments and pre-, mid- and post-roll ads to generate income. The YouView EPG will not carry any advertising, in line with the not-for-profit aims of the business. While YouView will not have a payment system, commercial content owners will be able to insert their own, or use facilitators such as PayPal
.
In May 2010, the Financial Times
reported that the name YouView was the most likely brand for the service, having been registered as Intellectual Property by the group of broadcasters in April. On 16 September 2010, YouView TV Ltd was incorporated and the product branded under the YouView name. At the same time Richard Halton was appointed as CEO of YouView TV Ltd with immediate effect, having previously served as programme director for Project Canvas.
On 16 September 2010, a 'Notice of threatened opposition' was filed against YouView with the Intellectual Property Owners Association
. Robin Fry, an intellectual property partner at law firm Beachcroft LLP, said that the site's similarity to YouTube
could cause consumers to confuse the two brands. The use of the world 'You', coupled with a capitalised character in the middle of the word, might suggest a connection between the services. If Google
did object, it would be highly likely to win any legal action, according to Fry. "Google is involved in litigation all over the world, and would not be frightened of taking action against this trademark. It has a clear interest in protecting its trademarks to stop them being diluted," he said.
On 4 November 2010, YouView appointed Adam & Eve as its advertising agency to create through-the-line advertising and communications. OMD was also appointed as YouView’s planning and buying agency and Momentum will act as YouView’s specialist retail and experiential marketing agency. The teams are tasked with coordinating the brand launch and roll-out of YouView across all media and channels.
On 14 April 2011, YouView announced additional hardware partnerships with Vestel, Pace plc, Huawei
and Manhattan.
HD
PVR
product require:
Analogue HD outputs are forbidden as part of the rights management strategy.
The specifications will evolve over time to reflect different devices, including non-PVR and Freesat
variants.
was announced as the non-executive chairman of Project Canvas. Meek led the Board and oversaw the appointment of a Richard Halton as CEO from programme director. Meek stepped down from his full time role at Ingenious Media
and his non-executive positions at the Broadband Stakeholder Group
and Phorm
to take the job.
Meek left YouView on 7 March 2011 and was replaced by Alan Sugar
with immediate effect, who was brought on board by Channel 5's Richard Desmond
. The move was partly based on his experience with set-top boxes, in particular that of Sky, and partly due to his likely influence in retaining confidence in the various partners.
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The venture is a partnership between four broadcasters (BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, Channel 5 and ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
) and three communications companies (Arqiva
Arqiva
Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless...
, BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
and TalkTalk
TalkTalk
TalkTalk is a pay television, telecommunications and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom...
). The platform, which is planning a full launch in February 2012, will allow consumers access to a range of third-party services (television channels, radio stations, on-demand services
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
and internet content) using a compliant device (such as a set-top box
Set-top box
A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...
) built to a common technical standard and through a broadband internet connection. The project was branded YouView in September 2010.
There are three main elements to the project: setting the technical standard, building the technical platform, and creating the user experience
User experience
User experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it also includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such...
.
Participants
Project Canvas was initially announced on 11 December 2008 as a partnership between the BBC, BT and ITV plc. It followed the failure of Project KangarooKangaroo (video on demand)
Kangaroo was the working title for a proposed video on demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide , ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD , initially expected to launch in 2008, but blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009. Following the Commission's rejection of the bid, the technology...
, a proposed video-on-demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide, ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD which was blocked on competition grounds and ended up as the SeeSaw
SeeSaw (Internet television)
SeeSaw was an Internet television service, born out of the BBC-led Project Kangaroo and launched in the UK on 17 February 2010. It was acquired by the Criterion Media Group in July 2011 but the agreed investment never materialised. The service was shut down on 28 October 2011...
internet television service.
On 30 July 2009, Project Canvas announced that Five had signed up to the project. On 9 July 2010, Five announced that it would not pursue further involvement in Project Canvas, pending a review of its digital investment strategy. Charles Constable, Director of Strategy at Five said "We continue to support the objectives of Project Canvas and despite withdrawing our interest in the venture we believe it will be a critical part of our strategy for reaching consumers in the future." On 24 August 2010, Channel 5 re-joined Project Canvas, following their acquisition by Northern & Shell.
On 16 December 2009, Project Canvas announced that Channel 4 and TalkTalk had also signed up to the project.
The six partners invited any further expressions of interest from companies interested in becoming part of the joint venture. The canvas partners proposed that all prospective venture partners should be granted an equal proportion of shares in the new joint venture company. Interested parties had until 23 April 2010 to express their interest.
On 22 March 2010, transmission firm Arqiva joined as an equal partner in the project.
On 17 May 2010, then Project Canvas director Richard Halton said "We have also put out an invitation for an eighth partner and we would like a company that can add scale and expertise to the platform. It is a question of finding an organization that shares the aims of the venture." It was later reported that, Everything Everywhere
Everything Everywhere
Everything Everywhere Limited is a mobile network operator and internet service provider company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest mobile network operator in the UK, with around 28 million customers...
, the UK operations of Orange and T-Mobile
T-Mobile (UK)
T-Mobile UK is a mobile network and mobile broadband operator in the United Kingdom. It is owned and operated by Everything Everywhere, the UK's largest mobile network.- Company history :...
, had decided against joining, after holding advanced discussions.
BBC Trust approval
On 26 February 2009, the BBC TrustBBC Trust
The BBC Trust is the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers....
launched a public consultation on the BBC Executive's proposal (Project Canvas) to develop a joint venture partnership to help enable the delivery of internet protocol television (IPTV), which would allow viewers to watch on-demand services, via television sets.
On 22 December 2009, the BBC Trust gave provisional approval to the BBC's involvement in Project Canvas after ruling that the likely public value of the proposal justifies any potential negative market impact. A period of consultation on the provisional conclusions closed on 2 February 2010. The BBC Trust has revealed that Project Canvas will cost over £115m in its first four years of operation.
On 25 June 2010, the BBC Trust gave final approval to the BBC's involvement in Project Canvas, stipulating a number of conditions. The Trust concluded that Project Canvas will deliver significant public value for licence fee payers. The Trust will review the BBC's involvement in Canvas against the conditions of its approval, twelve months after launch of Canvas to consumers.
The Digital TV Group
Digital TV Group
The Digital TV Group is the industry association for Digital Television in the United Kingdom : The Group was formed in 1995 to set technical standards for the implementation of digital terrestrial television in the UK and now encompasses all digital TV platforms and convergence issues...
welcomed the decision and is working with the Canvas partners and Virgin Media, Sky and DTG members to develop the UK specification for Connected TV devices and services which will form the 7th edition of the DTG D-Book. A spokesman for Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
said: "We are disappointed the BBC Trust has approved Canvas and ignored the significant concerns raised by the commercial sector about the proposal. Our position on this matter remains unchanged. As it stands, Canvas will severely restrict competition and innovation and ultimately this will harm consumers." A spokesman for British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
said: "The BBC's involvement in Canvas is an unnecessary use of public funds. The BBC Trust's announcement is a predictable decision from a body that has shown little inclination to think independently or set meaningful boundaries on the BBC's activities."
Main conditions of approval
- Industry engagement: Completed elements of the Canvas core technical specification to be published within 20 working days from this final approval, and the Canvas partners to engage with industry on these and future elements of the technical specification. The final core technical specification will be published no later than eight months before launch of the first set-top boxes. The Trust will keep this process of engagement under review.
- Free-to-air: Users will always be able to access Canvas free-to-air, though they may be charged for additional pay services that third parties might choose to provide via the Canvas platform, for example video on demand services, as well as the broadband subscription fees.
- Accessibility and usability: Accessibility and usability features, such as audio description, should be incorporated into the core technical specification and/or user interface as soon as reasonably possible; and appropriate information and signposting should be provided for users to help them make informed choices about the suitability of content wherever possible.
- Access to the platform for content providers and ISPs: Entry controls in terms of technical and content standards will be minimal, access will not be bundled with other products or services, listing on the electronic programme guide will be awarded in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner; and quality standards for ISPs delivering Canvas will be set at a minimum level and applied in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner.
- Legal compliance: Canvas will comply with all applicable laws including competition and state aid law.
- Cost: The BBC's involvement will not exceed the Executive's estimated costs by more than 20 per cent over a five year period.
Comments
Following the BBC's proposal in February 2009 there have been comments by a number of organisations and companies which have been published by the BBC in a 392 page document. The BBC Trust reached its provisional conclusions following more than 800 written responses.The UK's Intellect Technology Association, said in a submission to the BBC Trust that Project Canvas risks isolating the UK as a "technological island" in a global market by trying to create a standard IPTV set-top box for just the UK.
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
has continuously, strongly criticised the project funding, saying that public money will be used to give public service broadcasters a foothold in the valuable IPTV, to the disadvantage of "the private sector". BSkyB is likely to raise state aid complaints if it appears that the BBC is shouldering the costs of developing the venture for its partners. Sky estimates that it will lose four percent of revenue as a result of the project.
On 4 February 2010, The Guardian learned that in a submission to the BBC Trust as part of a final consultation on Project Canvas, the Digital TV Group
Digital TV Group
The Digital TV Group is the industry association for Digital Television in the United Kingdom : The Group was formed in 1995 to set technical standards for the implementation of digital terrestrial television in the UK and now encompasses all digital TV platforms and convergence issues...
said that there is "widespread concern" that the venture's partners are developing critical technology standards that do not involve key players such as set top-box manufacturers and TV makers. The DTG argue that the BBC Trust's provisional approval document does not contain a "clear and unequivocal condition" that Project Canvas will have to work with industry and there appears to be a "parallel process" taking place where Project Canvas and its preferred technology partners are developing a separate standard.
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
compiled a creative analysis for BT about the potential impact of Canvas, describing it as "Freeview 2.0". Morgan Stanley noted that the BBC Trust will reach a final decision on the BBC's Canvas involvement at the end of March. If it gives the full green light, then the platform could enter launch phase by the end of the year or in early 2011. However, Morgan Stanley noted that any launch date would be dependent on the completion of major technical work, such as locking down specifications with manufacturers and also creating a workable electronic programming guide. Morgan Stanley expects that Canvas set-top boxes will cost between £150 and £200. The report predicts that an App Store-style resource could be introduced to Canvas in the future, along with the integration of social networks such as Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. As Canvas will be an open platform, the report noted that content providers would no longer need to pay the current sum of around £10m for capacity on digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
to reach their target audience. Internet service providers would also benefit from the service due an increased consumer demand for fixed broadband packages, along with greater opportunities to sell more expensive tariffs for high definition streaming. Storing popular programmes on local Canvas drives would also ease the burden of heavy streaming traffic over broadband networks. Considering outstanding issues facing the project, Morgan Stanley said: "Canvas looks pro-competitive (breaking down platform barriers for content owners), but some media companies could still try to challenge its creation. "It looks unlikely that this could freeze launch however as content is not being aggregated and the BBC shareholding will be only 16.6%."
On 4 March 2010, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
learned that Neil Berkett, Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
's chief executive, would tell the Cable Congress in Brussels "the BBC Trust's consultation has been a shameless whitewash that contravenes almost every principle of good regulation." Mr Berkett objects to proposals to force all broadcasters to use a single 'Project Canvas' brand controlled by the BBC and its partners, which he claims will penalise commercial rivals. "The BBC Trust has stubbornly ignored all requests to address our concerns by imposing safeguards to prevent the BBC emerging as de facto gatekeeper of the digital world. This is a blatant demonstration that the Trust is incapable of regulating the BBC's activities in an objective way." On 28 April 2010, Neil Berkett confirmed that Virgin Media had made a submission to the Office of Fair Trading over Project Canvas. "Canvas needs to be an open platform but it is closed and will require a [second] dedicated set-top box," said Berkett. "We will oppose it vigorously if it is not an open world at large for customers to take advantage of. [The current proposals] are asking pay-TV customers to buy a second set-top box." He added that he considered it a misuse of the licence fee to create a product that was not accessible to all the public. "It is funded by the BBC licence fee and should be available everywhere, on a Virgin Box, a PS3 and even a Sky box," he said. "I find it extraordinary that it looks like the BBC Trust is endorsing what is a closed product. It is inappropriate for the BBC to be doing this."
On 14 June 2010, Neil Berkett revealed to The Guardian that "Far from trying to block the development of these open standards, we have offered to work commercially with Canvas to explore mutually beneficial ways in which we could incorporate them as a self-contained service in the next generation of Virgin Media set-top boxes." Berkett went on to explain his opposition to the project; "The Canvas consortium has rejected the opportunity to incorporate Canvas into the Virgin Media customer experience, insisting that if we want to use their standards we must also accept that the entire Virgin Media entertainment service be accessed by our subscribers via a Canvas-imposed interface, including the Canvas channel listing and search facility. This "shop window" to services would be entirely controlled by the joint venture partners and would allow the Canvas partners to give preference and prominence to their own channel content above that of any other content provider. At this point, Canvas starts to look less like a set of genuinely "open" standards and more like a fully-fledged competing distribution platform from which established pay TV operators are effectively excluded, along with other innovative platforms offering a differentiated user experience, such as the PS3 and the Xbox. Unless we accept the Canvas consortium's conditions, people who want both Canvas and a pay TV service will have to buy two set-top boxes. Far from simplifying the digital world, Canvas will complicate it." On the BBC's involvement Berkett said: "Quite rightly, much attention has been focused on whether the BBC should be using the licence fee to bank-roll such a controversial intervention in a dynamic market. And it's true that many private sector companies are already investing precious capital in "connected TV". But it's the closed nature of the Canvas platform which gives the BBC's involvement significance. A set of standards that are genuinely open to all and to which the BBC has contributed is one thing. A proprietary gateway to the digital world, underpinned by the formidable brand and marketing muscle of the BBC, is quite another."
On 5 March 2010, in a Q&A session at the DTG Summit, Richard Halton, then programme director for Project Canvas, faced criticism from Digital TV Group members about the lack of published technical specifications for the platform. In response, he asked members to appreciate the "tough and pretty challenging" schedule exerted on the project. However, Halton acknowledged the DTG's desire for more effective engagement with Canvas, and committed to publishing the remaining key technical documents by the end of May.
On 19 April 2010, 3view managing director John Donovan has said that he is "concerned" about the potential market impact of IPTV joint venture Project Canvas. "The honest answer is that no-one has spoken to me from the BBC about what Canvas will entail. We do not understand what Canvas's remit will be and we do not subscribe to the belief that Canvas will provide something the commercial market can't. We have proved that we can do it," he told Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
. Donovan declined to be drawn on whether 3view would consider a legal challenge to Canvas, but did say that his business will defend its ability to compete in the market. "I think we would have to reserve comment [on possible legal action]. But at this stage, clearly, we will protect our business at all costs. And I think, we will just have to leave it there for the moment."
Office of Fair Trading approval
On 22 March 2010, the Project Canvas partners submitted analysis to the Office of Fair TradingOffice of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
setting out why the proposed Canvas joint venture does not constitute a qualifying merger under the Enterprise Act 2002
Enterprise Act 2002
The Enterprise Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which made major changes to UK competition law with respect to mergers and also changed the law governing insolvency bankruptcy.-Structure:*Part 1 The Office of Fair Trading...
. On 19 May 2010, the OFT confirmed that it would not investigate Project Canvas over competition issues. As none of the partners were contributing a "pre-existing business" to Project Canvas, the OFT ruled that it "did not have the jurisdiction" to investigate the venture on competition grounds. "Unlike in the Project Kangaroo joint venture which was blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009, it is not proposed that the joint venture partners will contribute any video-on-demand content or other business to [Project] Canvas, and Canvas will have no role in aggregating, marketing or directly retailing any such television content," said the OFT. The OFT also said that it found that none of the partners would have a "material influence" over the policy of the venture – the "lowest level of control that may give rise to a relevant merger situation".
Ofcom approval
On 3 August 2010, Virgin Media lodged a complaint with OfcomOfcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
claiming that Project Canvas is an anti-competitive cartel that will crush the nascent online TV market. The cable TV company, which is also calling on the Office of Fair Trading to step in on the grounds that the venture breaches the Competition Act, argues that the six partners backing Project Canvas have not stuck to their stated pledge of creating a set of open standards for delivering next-generation TV services. "Collectively the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 account for around two-thirds of all television viewing in the UK while BT and TalkTalk control over half the national broadband market," said Virgin Media. "[Project Canvas] will stifle future innovation as well as eliminate existing consumer choice for home entertainment. These well-resourced companies usually are direct competitors in their respective markets but... they are establishing a single new TV platform of their own with a considerable incentive to favour this over other TV services. This could severely affect consumer options for watching public service programming in the future."
Virgin Media has also complained that Project Canvas has wrongly rejected what the company considers fair offers of integrating the technology into its own set-top boxes with a compromise on user interface. "We have not taken the decision to file this complaint lightly," said a Virgin Media spokesman. "However, the Canvas partners have significantly exceeded their original claims to be creating a common set of open standards which could have been improved upon by others and are now intent on controlling every aspect of how people watch television."
On 18 August 2010, IP Vision formally complained to Ofcom, calling on the regulator to examine the impact Project Canvas will have on innovation, competition and consumer choice. IP Vision is challenging the validity of Project Canvas, under the 1998 Competition Act. The company has already challenged the BBC over support for BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
.
On 30 August 2010, Six TV
Six TV
Six TV was the sixth free to air terrestrial television channel in the UK, broadcast in Oxford, Southampton, Reading and Portsmouth. It operated under a set of Restricted Service Licences and broadcast on UHF channel 47 in Oxford and UHF channel 29 in Southampton...
, the largest holder of analogue television restricted service licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
s in the UK (none of which are in use), announced that it would formally request a full Ofcom investigation of Canvas, warning that it could be a "poison pill" for regional broadcasters. Six TV will also submit its complaint regarding Canvas – which includes broader concerns regarding anti-competitive practices affecting digital television transmission in the UK – to the Office of Fair Trading. Six TV also intends to lobby communications minister Ed Vaizey. On 9 September 2010, United For Local TV an umbrella group which represents five local broadcasters with restricted service licenses (including Six TV), asked Ofcom to investigate the Project Canvas connected-TV venture on competition grounds. United For Local TV complained that qualification for including those services is “arbitrary”, fees are charged that are “unrelated to a service provider's ability to pay”, their channels would be hard to find on the EPG, the JV members may exploit viewer data “for commercial advantage” and Canvas could “prevent viewers from obtaining any streamed services on the open internet from TV channels who are unwilling or unable to meet the access terms.”
On 13 September 2010, the Open Source Consortium, a trade body for companies working in open standards software, submitted a formal objection to Ofcom asking it to investigate the project. In its submission to the media regulator, the OSC said that Canvas will have "adverse consequences" for the device and software sector by "diminishing consumer choice and causing inevitable consumer harm".
On 24 September 2010, ISBA - the trade body representing advertisers, joined a growing list of parties asking Ofcom to investigate YouView. ISBA director of media and advertising Bob Wootton believes that the project could represent a "quasi-monopoly". Wootton also claimed that the BBC Trust's recent consultation on Canvas/YouView was "insufficient" for a platform that would carry advertising.
On 28 September 2010, Electra Entertainment - a UK-based IPTV service provider, complained to media regulator Ofcom that YouView will "damage" the UK's interactive TV sector. Electra has developed an IPTV platform, called Trove, which brings rich media services to the TV screen. It is currently available on Tesco-branded Freeview set top boxes. Electra believes that "the proposed vision, shareholder structure and aims of YouView are anti-competitive and significantly damage the UK interactive TV market". The firm also claimed that YouView's estimated initial marketing budget of £48 million is a "major cause for concern amongst venture capitalists looking to fund competing private British businesses in this emerging broadband TV sector".
On 13 October 2010, British Sky Broadcasting submitted a last-minute complaint to Ofcom and the Office of Fair Trading. The media regulator is now likely to delay a decision on whether to launch a full investigation into the service, previously called Project Canvas, while it considers Sky's objection. News of Sky's move prompted an angry reaction from the YouView chief executive, Richard Halton, "While we welcome justifiable scrutiny, the timing of this submission is clearly designed to extend the regulatory process in pursuit of commercial self-interest rather than the public interest", he said. Sky is believed to argue in its submission that the seven-partner YouView venture will stifle competition in the on-demand market.
On 19 October 2010, Ofcom announced that it will not open an investigation into Project Canvas (YouView) under the Competition Act following complaints made by Virgin Media and IPVision. Ofcom also received submissions from 11 other parties, including BSkyB.
The regulator said that it is "premature" to open an investigation into YouView, as "whether or not YouView and its partners will harm competition in the ways alleged will depend upon how this emerging market develops and how they act, particularly in relation to providing access to content and issuing technical standards". Ofcom noted that there is "little evidence" at this stage that YouView partners the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 plan to restrict access to their video on-demand content.
Ofcom do not propose to open a Competition Act investigation, however Ofcom will continue to monitor developments, particularly in relation to YouView’s approach to sharing standards and its effects on content syndication. If evidence emerges that the operation of YouView could cause harm to viewers and consumers in the future, Ofcom may reconsider whether to investigate.
Development
On 13 November 2009, BBC Future Media & Technology director Erik Huggers previewed the work-in-progress user interface that could power the Project Canvas at C21 MediaC21 Media
C21 Media is a London-based publisher focusing on news and information for the international television and new media industries. The company publishes to the world via daily news on its official website as well as daily and weekly e-newsletters, and through print magazines C21 International, C21...
's FutureMedia conference in London. The mock-up of how the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
would look on Canvas allowed users to watch highlights instantly, send clips to friends, monitor what's being said on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, access archives at the touch of a button and use commercial third party applications and services.
Following the BBC Trust's provisional approval of the BBC's participation, the partners formed a new joint venture to develop the technical specification for devices with standards body the Digital TV Group
Digital TV Group
The Digital TV Group is the industry association for Digital Television in the United Kingdom : The Group was formed in 1995 to set technical standards for the implementation of digital terrestrial television in the UK and now encompasses all digital TV platforms and convergence issues...
, create and market a new consumer brand, build a common user experience, and build the technology platform. All technical specifications must be clearly published to allow manufacturers to adapt to the new Canvas standard.
The BBC initially began working with three innovation partners (Technicolor SA, Humax
Humax
Humax is an electronics company. Founded in South Korea in 1989, it manufactures set-top boxes, digital video recorders and other consumer electronics. It is publicly traded on KOSDAQ....
and Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
) from the consumer device manufacturing sector on the development of the Canvas core technical specifications. The relationships have NDAs, non-binding collaboration agreements and agreements ensuring any IP the trio develop can be shared with the industry. On 5 March 2010, in a Q&A session at the DTG Summit, Richard Halton, then programme director for Project Canvas, confirmed that Canvas has direct collaboration relationships with various manufacturers and industry players - including Cisco, Technicolor, Humax, Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
, LG Group
LG Group
LG Corp. is the second-largest South Korean conglomerate company following Samsung, and it is headquartered in the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. LG produces electronics, chemicals, and telecommunications products and operates subsidiaries like LG Electronics, LG Display,...
and Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
- and Halton stressed that collaboration with the DTG is "absolutely critical" to the project's future success. On 13 May 2011, Technicolor left Youview.
The system will offer access to the broadcasters' own VOD, but has also promised to offer a software developers' kit (SDK) to encourage internet content on to the screen. Canvas has also promised to offer payment mechanisms to content owners that wish to charge for their content.
Speaking on 25 February 2010, BT Vision
BT Vision
BT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...
chief executive Marc Watson, announced that the project is targeting a commercial launch within the next 12 months, initially aimed at the UK's 10 million Freeview households as a starting point. Open technical standards required for third-party developers to create services for the Canvas platform would be published in the summer. He added that a management group, called The Venture, would run the platform in a neutral, non-discriminatory way, and that should BSkyB wish to take part, it would apply to this body, which is not influenced by individual corporate considerations.
On 7 May 2010, Project Canvas submitted key documents to the Digital Television Group, making the next set of technical specifications available to industry. The publication of these documents is in addition to Project Canvas partners' active participation in the DTG Connected TV working groups. The result of this DTG work will be the publication of the UK Connected TV Specification: D-Book 7 by December 2010. In addition to the previously available Consumer Device Platform Specification and Broadcast Content Delivery Specification, further documents were published in the members' area of the DTG web site including the Consumer Device Software Management Specification, IP Content Delivery Specification and System Metadata Model.
On 6 July 2010, Project Canvas published information on its content protection strategy. Providers can choose to make content available with no protection at all, or adopt transport encryption, file encryption, device authentication, or digital rights management
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
(DRM). Conditional Access upgrade will also be possible for those who require it. For providers of premium content Canvas will support Marlin
Marlin (DRM)
Marlin is a DRM platform created by an open-standards community initiative called the . The Marlin initiative is based on the fundamental notion that interoperability and openness are essential to sustainable commercial success....
as the required DRM solution, at launch, which has been developed over the past five years by Intertrust
InterTrust Technologies
Intertrust Technologies Corporation invents, develops, and licenses software, technologies and intellectual property for Digital Rights Management and trusted computing. The company holds over 150 patents and has over 300 patent applications pending worldwide...
, Panasonic, Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
, Samsung
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. The selection of Marlin follows widespread industry engagement with content owners, content distributors, device manufacturers and internet service providers, from which it was concluded that a common DRM solution present on all devices at launch and widely supported by content providers would benefit all industry participants. Marlin is referenced in Release 1 of the Open IPTV Forum specifications and therefore has the potential to be widely adopted as a part of internet-connected TV device deployments worldwide.
On 11 August 2010, The Project Canvas partners formally invited expressions of interest from consumer equipment manufacturers to develop and bring Canvas devices to market in 2011. By the 25 August deadline, more than forty organisations had expressed their support for the Project Canvas, representing a broad range of consumer device manufacturers including set-top-boxes, internet-enabled TVs and recorders. Project Canvas is evaluating the responses, those that are selected will be taken through to the next stage of the evaluation process by the end of the September. The initial focus of Canvas is for twin tuner DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
IP-connected DVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
. Project Canvas also welcomes a response from device manufacturers proposing other device categories such as internet-enabled TV (IETV) and set-top boxes. It is anticipated that Canvas devices will be made available to consumers though both retail channels and bundled with broadband packages.
The service will offer on-demand TV (from 4oD, BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
, Demand Five
Demand Five
Demand 5 is the brand name of video on demand services offered by Channel 5 in the United Kingdom. The service, which was previously known as 'Five Download', went live on 26 June 2008....
, ITV Player
ITV Player
ITV Player is an online video on demand service accessible though the main ITV website. The service offers a variety of programmes from homegrown programming to imports across ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and CITV. Some sports programming is available to watch again via the service, the 2010 FIFA World...
and SeeSaw
SeeSaw (Internet television)
SeeSaw was an Internet television service, born out of the BBC-led Project Kangaroo and launched in the UK on 17 February 2010. It was acquired by the Criterion Media Group in July 2011 but the agreed investment never materialised. The service was shut down on 28 October 2011...
) and high-definition PVR capabilities without a monthly subscription fee, but will allow commercial broadcasters to use micro payments and pre-, mid- and post-roll ads to generate income. The YouView EPG will not carry any advertising, in line with the not-for-profit aims of the business. While YouView will not have a payment system, commercial content owners will be able to insert their own, or use facilitators such as PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
.
In May 2010, the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
reported that the name YouView was the most likely brand for the service, having been registered as Intellectual Property by the group of broadcasters in April. On 16 September 2010, YouView TV Ltd was incorporated and the product branded under the YouView name. At the same time Richard Halton was appointed as CEO of YouView TV Ltd with immediate effect, having previously served as programme director for Project Canvas.
On 16 September 2010, a 'Notice of threatened opposition' was filed against YouView with the Intellectual Property Owners Association
Intellectual Property Owners Association
The Intellectual Property Owners Association is a trade association that is composed of owners of intellectual property and other parties interested in intellectual property law...
. Robin Fry, an intellectual property partner at law firm Beachcroft LLP, said that the site's similarity to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
could cause consumers to confuse the two brands. The use of the world 'You', coupled with a capitalised character in the middle of the word, might suggest a connection between the services. If Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
did object, it would be highly likely to win any legal action, according to Fry. "Google is involved in litigation all over the world, and would not be frightened of taking action against this trademark. It has a clear interest in protecting its trademarks to stop them being diluted," he said.
On 4 November 2010, YouView appointed Adam & Eve as its advertising agency to create through-the-line advertising and communications. OMD was also appointed as YouView’s planning and buying agency and Momentum will act as YouView’s specialist retail and experiential marketing agency. The teams are tasked with coordinating the brand launch and roll-out of YouView across all media and channels.
On 14 April 2011, YouView announced additional hardware partnerships with Vestel, Pace plc, Huawei
Huawei
Huawei is a Chinese multinational networking and telecommunications equipment and services company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China...
and Manhattan.
Technical information
On 14 April 2011, YouView publishing its final core technical specification. The minimum specifications for a YouView-enabled DTTDigital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
HD
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
PVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
product require:
- Twin DVB-T2DVB-T2DVB-T2 is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial; it is the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television....
tuners - Embedded LinuxEmbedded LinuxEmbedded Linux is the use of Linux in embedded computer systems such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, media players, set-top boxes, and other consumer electronics devices, networking equipment, machine control, industrial automation, navigation equipment and medical instruments...
2.6.23 or later operating system - Maximum of 26 dB of fan noise
- 720p720p720p is the shorthand name for 1280x720, a category of High-definition television video modes having a resolution of 1080 or 720p and a progressive scan...
graphics plane - MPEG-2MPEG-2MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission...
and MPEG-4MPEG-4MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
video - RGBRGB color modelThe RGB color model is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light is added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors...
SCARTSCARTSCART is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual equipment together...
socket - HDMIHDMIHDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...
1.3 socket - Powered RFRF connectorA coaxial RF connector is an electrical connector designed to work at radio frequencies in the multi-megahertz range.RF connectors are typically used with coaxial cables and are designed to maintain the shielding that the coaxial design offers. Better models also minimize the change in transmission...
loop-through - OpticalTOSLINKTOSLINK is a standardized optical fiber connection system. Also known generically as an "optical audio cable," its most common use is in consumer audio equipment , where it carries a digital audio stream from components such as MiniDisc, CD and DVD players, DAT recorders, computers, and modern...
or coaxialCoaxial cableCoaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
S/PDIFS/PDIFS/PDIF is a digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in home theaters and other digital high...
connection - Up to 5.1 surround sound5.1 surround sound5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
- EthernetEthernetEthernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....
port supporting 10BASE-T10BASE-TEthernet over twisted pair technologies use twisted-pair cables for the physical layer of an Ethernet computer network. Other Ethernet cable standards employ coaxial cable or optical fiber. Early versions developed in the 1980s included StarLAN followed by 10BASE-T. By the 1990s, fast, inexpensive...
and 100BASE-TX - 802.11n wirelessWireless networkWireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...
support, integrated or via a USB adapter - 950 MHz CPUCentral processing unitThe central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
- Two USBUniversal Serial BusUSB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
2.0 sockets - Support for USB mass storage devices
- 320 GB hard disk drive (30 GB reserved for pushed content)
- Support for on hard disk drive encryption using AES128Advanced Encryption StandardAdvanced Encryption Standard is a specification for the encryption of electronic data. It has been adopted by the U.S. government and is now used worldwide. It supersedes DES...
or Triple DESTriple DESIn cryptography, Triple DES is the common name for the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm block cipher, which applies the Data Encryption Standard cipher algorithm three times to each data block.... - 512 MB of RAMRandom-access memoryRandom access memory is a form of computer data storage. Today, it takes the form of integrated circuits that allow stored data to be accessed in any order with a worst case performance of constant time. Strictly speaking, modern types of DRAM are therefore not random access, as data is read in...
Analogue HD outputs are forbidden as part of the rights management strategy.
The specifications will evolve over time to reflect different devices, including non-PVR and Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
variants.
Management
On 23 July 2010, Kip MeekKip Meek
Kip Meek , full name Kingsley John Neville Meek, is a British businessperson specialising in media and telecommunication.Kip Meek held board level roles at Ofcom from 2003 until 2007...
was announced as the non-executive chairman of Project Canvas. Meek led the Board and oversaw the appointment of a Richard Halton as CEO from programme director. Meek stepped down from his full time role at Ingenious Media
Ingenious Media
Ingenious Media is a UK media investment and advisory group founded in 1998 by Patrick McKenna who is its Chief Executive Officer....
and his non-executive positions at the Broadband Stakeholder Group
Broadband stakeholder group
The Broadband Stakeholder Group is the UK government's advisory body on broadband. Created in 2001 by then Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness Stephen Timms, it provides a neutral forum for organisations across the converging broadband value-chain to discuss and resolve key policy,...
and Phorm
Phorm
Phorm, formerly known as 121Media, is a Delaware, United States-based digital technology company known for its advertising software. Founded in 2002, the company originally distributed programs that were considered spyware, from which they made millions of dollars in revenue...
to take the job.
Meek left YouView on 7 March 2011 and was replaced by Alan Sugar
Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
with immediate effect, who was brought on board by Channel 5's Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
. The move was partly based on his experience with set-top boxes, in particular that of Sky, and partly due to his likely influence in retaining confidence in the various partners.
See also
- KangarooKangaroo (video on demand)Kangaroo was the working title for a proposed video on demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide , ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD , initially expected to launch in 2008, but blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009. Following the Commission's rejection of the bid, the technology...
, a potential video on demand platform intended to offer content from BBC WorldwideBBC WorldwideBBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
, Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and ITV plcITV plcITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
. It was blocked by the UK Competition CommissionCompetition CommissionThe Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
. - Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TVHybrid Broadcast Broadband TVHybrid Broadcast Broadband TV is both an industry standard and promotional initiative for hybrid digital TV to harmonise the broadcast, IPTV, and broadband delivery of entertainment to the end consumer through connected TVs and set-top boxes...
(HbbTV) - Smart TVSmart TVSmart TV, which is also sometimes referred to as "Connected TV" or "Hybrid TV", , is the phrase used to describe the current trend of integration of the internet and Web 2.0 features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technological convergence between computers and these...
External links
- YouView Homepage
- Project Canvas Homepage
- Project Canvas: What is it all about? an article about Project Canvas on Tech Radar