The BSkyB objection

Sky yesterday was circulating its submission to the BBC Trust’s consultation on Project Canvas, and it received a lot of coverage.

Julian at Broadband TV News has a nice short but thorough summary of Sky’s objections (an even shorter summary: “everything”).

As we tweeted about late yesterday, Canvas issued a response.

The response reads as follows:

“The enormous consumer benefits that internet-powered TV can bring should not be restricted to paying customers. An open, standards-based platform, that enables a far greater range of content providers to enter the market, will be good for content owners and good for consumers - who gain a subscription-free alternative.”

“Freeview and Freesat transformed digital TV, and showed what standards-based platforms can do for audiences and the industry. Canvas has the potential to do the same for the next generation of TV, bringing content on-demand from a huge range of providers into the living room, all for a one-off fee. Access to the Canvas platform would be open to any third-party, including Sky.”

The BBC Trust also issued a statement:

“In assessing the BBC Executive’s application to join the Project Canvas joint venture, the Trust has followed the processes set out in the BBC’s Charter and Agreement. The Trust’s rigorous assessment will include consideration of both the public value and market impact of the proposal. The Trust has already concluded a seven-week period of public consultation and a second period of public consultation is also planned.”