Lovefilm Looks To BBC Canvas; C4, UK Film Council In Talks
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With 12 months to go before digital TVs and set-top boxes powered by the BBC’s Canvas open IPTV standard are ready for general sale, the project has added DVD rental firm Lovefilm to its list of partners, and talks are on-going with Channel 4 and the UK Film Council. (Correction: The BBC has contacted us to point out that Lovefilm isn’t an official partner of the project. It may play a role as a content provider but it won’t be involved in the creation of the service.)
SEE ALSO: Viewpoint: Canvas Will Explode UK TV, But BBC Must Stand Back
That’s according to Project Canvas director Richard Halton, who spoke at the Westminster Media Forum on Tuesday to entice potential technology and content partners to take advantage of the “much wider range of business models” it will offer. BT (NYSE: BT), ITV (LSE: ITV) and Five are the other signed up partners so far.
Halton showed a mock-up of LoveFilm.com as it would look via a Canvas device—the site is apparently preparing an IPTV subscription model for when Canvas launches. Lovefilm’s DVD movie rental business has been motoring during the consumer credit crunch, but, unlike its US rival Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX), its online offering is nascent and it so far lacks any set-top box or IPTV carriage - channels that will really take it to the next level as a competitor to the likes of Sky Movies
While Canvas is a “subscription-free” service—indeed, much to BSkyB’s annoyance, Halton paints it as an alternative to pay TV—third party members are free to impose their own paid business models…
Responding to a question from paidContent:UK, Halton gave a flavour of the project’s philosophy: “Canvas offers scope for lots of different models, but Canvas doesn’t have some puritanical view that if you don’t offer some free content you’re not allowed in. It’s an open platform.” Halton however admitted the mix could change over time; he said the business models of the project’s partners today “isn’t going to be the one they have in 10 years’ time…”
Posted In: Media & Publishing, TV, IPTV, VOD, Companies, BBC, Channel 4, Five, ITV, YouView
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