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IPTV platform, YouView, gets Ofcom nod
19 Oct 2010 | 11.21 Europe/London
After receiving the blessing of the BBC Trust and not being investigated by the The Competitions Commission, YouView passed another hurdle today when Ofcom said it would not be investigating the new IPTV platform for the UK.
In all 13 companies had asked the telecoms regulator to investigate the competition implications surround the launch of YouView in the first half of next year, but the regulator declined, citing that it was too soon to see if it would have an adverse impact on either viewers or competition. Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards, did note that if the situation were to change, the regulator would review this decision.
Freeview with IPTV thrown in
YouView was until recently referred to as Project Canvas which was itself born from Project Kangaroo which did not get regulatory approval to launch.
YouView is backed by the BBC, Channel 4, Five, Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk and has so far not incurred regulatory disapproval because it is an open platform which other broadcasters and content owners can join. Due to each service being run individually the regulators have taken the view that there is no grouping together of ad sales or subscriptions and so little impact on competition.
When YouView launches next year it will the equivalent of Freeview with the addition of live and on demand IPTV programming and subscription services.
In all 13 companies had asked the telecoms regulator to investigate the competition implications surround the launch of YouView in the first half of next year, but the regulator declined, citing that it was too soon to see if it would have an adverse impact on either viewers or competition. Ofcom Chief Executive, Ed Richards, did note that if the situation were to change, the regulator would review this decision.
Freeview with IPTV thrown in
YouView was until recently referred to as Project Canvas which was itself born from Project Kangaroo which did not get regulatory approval to launch.
YouView is backed by the BBC, Channel 4, Five, Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk and has so far not incurred regulatory disapproval because it is an open platform which other broadcasters and content owners can join. Due to each service being run individually the regulators have taken the view that there is no grouping together of ad sales or subscriptions and so little impact on competition.
When YouView launches next year it will the equivalent of Freeview with the addition of live and on demand IPTV programming and subscription services.