Canvas & related news roundup - 25 Aug
In Project Canvas news roundup:
- Digital Spy have a Q&A with BBC’s director of IPTV Richard Halton here. The resulting article is here (in which Halton restates the 2010 launch aim).
- We mentioned it on Twitter when it happened, but early last week, Sky hit out again at the BBC Trust over its handling of the Project Canvas consultation - FT article here. Sky’s two main issues: that the Trust has not submitted Canvas to a full public value test, and that the 5 weeks between the release of the further detailed info and the close of the consultation period (Sep 1) was vastly insufficient.
In VOD & IPTV-related news for the last few weeks:
- Channel 4 is to run a week of 3D programmes in autumn. 3D glasses will be available from Sainsbury’s. The programmes include unspecified movies, and footage of the Queen’s coronation.
- Speculation continues around a UK launch for Hulu: The Tele yesterday on its site ran two different articles: one claiming ITV is signing up imminently including exclusive rights on a few of its programmes; the second saying no content partners have been signed (and also that Channel 4 is reportedly going to start showing full length episodes on YouTube); both saying a 2010 launch is the earliest possible. PaidContent points out that no one at Hulu itself (or any of the potential content providers) has ever come out and given timing objectives around the UK launch.
- Blinkbox adds BBC Worldwide content. Some shows will be free/ad-supported while others will be paid (Broadband TV news article).
- ITV will launch ITV1 HD on Freeview, starting with London by end of 2009 - Broadcast Now article.
- A consumer survey by Deloitte & Yougov has found more than half of people wouldn’t watch more VOD even if they had a faster, more reliable broadband connection. 29% said they didn’t see the point in watching TV online. Media Guardian article here.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=c2f03de7-a45a-41e4-aa40-87dd3d15ff8d)
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).
Summary of new information on Canvas
It’s hard to know whether it was the Friday-lunchtime release, or if there is some sort of Project Canvas fatigue (already!?), but the additional information on Project Canvas released by BBC management has received very little coverage so far.
Here is a summary of what we’ve seen written so far:
- The most comprehensive, no-nonsense summary of points is this post at PaidContentUK. I won’t repeat it all here, but go have a look.
- Broadband TV News in this article covers the the co-operation: how DTG (Digital Tv Group) will work closely with Canvas, as well as open up their membership to ISPs.
- Brand Republic / Media Week focus on the timetable and timings, leading with the feted 2010 launch. Article here.
- The FT’s article from Sat’s print edition has a nice general summary, as well as mentioning the EPG prioritisation issue, and that there will be plenty of commercial opportunities.
And here is the BBC Trust’s statement from Friday, and each section of the additional info (all PDFs): S.1 Venture proposal, S.2 EPG and enabling access for content and service providers , S.3 The agreement of the Canvas specification and industry engagement, S.4 IP distribution and related issues, S.5 ‘Project Canvas’ and fit with wider BBC platform strategy , S.6 Costs.
[Update] There’s also a reaction here from @Nevali. And @BenedictEvans has some thoughts in his tweets.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=0ca1bee7-fc96-4b2e-93df-31236a24cc6c)
Breaking: Additional Project Canvas information from BBC management
More than 7 weeks ago the BBC Trust made its first public announcement regarding its consultation on Project Canvas: “We need more information”.
Today (at about 1pm) that additional information - given to the BBC Trust by BBC management - was published.
We’ll have a wrap-up of responses and coverage (as well as some of our own thoughts) over the new few days, but in the meantime here is:
- the full statement (including a revised consultation timeline)
- the actual additional information to the areas the Trust highlighted (most linked from that page as PDFs)
And of course, to see coverage/responses as they happen around the web, you can do a Twitter search , a Google News search, and a Google Blogsearch.
(Update - 27 July: Here’s a new post linking to some of the press coverage so far.)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=1a2a540a-a372-40c6-9816-736e4d4561d6)
Lost: 1 new consultation timetable for Project Canvas
Today (July 16) marks 6 weeks since the BBC Trust announced that its original timeline for consultation/approval process on Project Canvas was going out the window.
The reason for new a timeline stems from the Trust in the announcement on June 4 recognising that, while in principal Canvas is merited, there was nowhere near enough substantive information provided by BBC management (a call also loudly made by many stakeholders including Sky, Virgin Media, Intellect).
So the Trust asked the executive for more information. And a revised timetable was to be drawn up the the executive to reflect this development.
It’s now 6 weeks later, and there has been no new timetable publicly announced. Where is it, and when will we see it?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=87bdb7ca-f1f3-4da9-8151-bdf8bbbc478e)
Breaking: BBC Trust: Give us more info, lots of it
**Breaking News**
As The Telegraph reported yesterday, the BBC Trust had today published its emerging conclusions. Under the timeline of the public consultation - which launched on 26 February - the Trust had until this coming Monday to make known their first thoughts on Project Canvas.
In summary: the Trust has recognised that the partners to Project Canvas - including the BBC, BT, and ITV - need to provide lots more information around all aspects of the proposed venture. This will also mean the original timeline - where the BBC Trust was to make a final decision and announce it by 24 July - is no longer applicable.
From the announcement today:
“Consequently, the Trust does not now intend to publish a decision on the 24 July. We intend to delay the second consultation until after the Executive has returned with further detail in support of its application. This additional information and a revised timetable to complete our assessment will be shared with stakeholders in due course.”
The Trust is now requesting from the Executive information on areas including, but not limited to:
- The choice of technical standards for canvas
- The way in which the BBC will work with industry bodies
- Control of the electronic programme guide
- Governance arrangements for the joint venture
- The use of editorial controls
Find the documents here at the BBC Trust’s announcement page.
Also available is the summary analysis of public consultation document (PDF), and the 392 pages of public responses (PDF - 7mb)
=============================
Update: 12 noon: The Project Canvas partners - BBC, BT, ITV - have issued a short response to the BBC Trust’s morning announcement . In that they sound upbeat that the Trust has found “widespread support” for home IPTV, and of the BBC coordinating & accelerating it.
5 things we’ll see in the Canvas submissions
There are two weeks to go until the BBC Trust makes its preliminary findings (”emerging conclusions”) on Project Canvas known to the public.
Presumably, like with past consultations, submissions made as part of the consultation will also be made public at the same time.
Keeping in mind that the submissions aren’t just from companies like Sky or organisations like the DTG, but from members of the public too, in no particular order, below are five themes that will arise across the submissions:
- Vigorous observations about the project information made publicly available to date being so lacking in detail.
- Highlighting of the importance of the EPG, coupled with concerns about who/how it will be controlled.
- From consumers there will be two parts praise for the dismantling of the oppressive regimes of both paid access and current technical trickery in getting VOD to the TV, and one part acrimony at the BBC wasting licence fee payers’ money.
- Protests that the BBC is reinventing the wheel of IPTV standards & should instead back an existing standards body.
- Complaints that special interest groups and representative bodies weren’t privately consulted for their opinions before the public consultation.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_c.png?x-id=8874878d-4a6f-48a1-8ff0-4a6cbc83da9f)
Project Canvas news roundup - 19 May 2009
With the exception of Sky’s strong criticisms of Project Canvas, it has been a quieter week on the news front:
- [Just new this morning] IPA: The body representing advertising agencies, in its submission to the BBC Trust’s consultation, is worried about the commercial opportunities that might be given up, given the BBC’s involvement. Brand Republic article here. (The article, rather than the IPA specifically, also goes on to essentially criticise Canvas for not having consulted with ad agencies to get their input already. Seems premature seeing the endeavour doesn’t even have official approval yet from the Trust. And surely it’s a technical discussion of basic standards first, followed by the advertising opps? The world does not exist solely because of advertising folks.)
- ITV chairman Michael Grade and BBC future media & technology controller Erik Huggers, speaking of different occasions last week, both stressed the differences between Project Canvas and Project Kangaroo - PaidContent UK & Broadcast Now articles.
- Peter Kirwa on Wired UK has a good article looking at why people like BSkyB are getting defensive.
- Update 19/05 10am: Blinkx have been involved with Canvas beyond the public consultation. From this PaidContent UK post: “We’ve played a role in the project so far. We were invited to submit comments on the work that’s taken place. Most of the work we’ve done has been private so far.”
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.”
RSS feed