Five officially joins Project Canvas… Yes?

We have read that Five, the RTL-owned broadcaster, has officially joined Project Canvas.

It started with an article on The Telegraph site yesterday afternoon - here. This morning both The Guardian and C21Media have the same story.

Yesterday when the Tele’s story appeared, we wondered (on Twitter) if Five had actually officially confirmed their joining, or if the article was totally based on the mention of Five in the extra information documents supplied by the BBC management to the BBC Trust on Friday - in Section 1 (PDF) that gives more detail on the structure, Five are mentioned on page 3 as an “anticipated” one of three PSBs (see our post here on the extra information).

Now The Guardian and C21 Media have run the story, it is starting to sound official. The Guardian article has a quote from chief exec Dawn Airey, but it’s not entirely clear its current (to my mind it sounds familiar to views she gave at a broadcasting conference earlier this month - although I can’t find it verbatim at all).

There is nothing on the Five site - their press release page is here - but it hasn’t had anything of any sort added in the last week, so not sure how timely that page is. (There’s also nothing on Five owner RTL’s site, but that’s not unexpected.)

So the question is a simple one: Can someone from Five please confirm whether you are officially now involved in Project Canvas?

Update - 20:00: Five put the press release on their site during today, and the announcement has gotten coverage from many sites .  The same two para quote that everyone is running, from chief exec Dawn Airey:

“Project Canvas is an important step forward because it will extend choice and significantly improve the television experience for viewers. Its widespread adoption is central to driving Digital Britain.

“It’s vital for broadcasters and other industry stakeholders to form partnerships such as Canvas if they’re to open up new commercial opportunities and thrive in the digital world.”

Also - Silicon.com have an interview with Five’s head of strategy. Their key rationale? Joining lets them be involved in the platform itself, rather than just being a content provider (in the way they are with Freeview).