Virgin Media ask Ofcom to investigate BBC’s ‘Project Canvas’
Virgin Media has lodged a formal objection with the broadcasting regulator Ofcom over the BBC’s Project Canvas, a bid to provide video-on-demand through a broadband connection.
The complaint centres on the belief that Canvas will cause “irreparable” harm to the competition by dictating “the form of user interface delivered to consumers and the way in which user’s access and search for content.”
Though scheduled to launch next year an investigation could delay implementation of the project which has already been held up by scrutiny from the Office of Fair Trading and the BBC.
Canvas, a collaboration between BT, Channel 4, ITV and Talk Talk, is intended to create an “open standards based internet connected TV environment” which, its backers insist, will allow competition to “flourish”.
The service, likely to be dubbed “Youview” when launched, will offer customers content from BBC iPlayer, ITV.com and Lovefilm via a set top box and broadband connection, but critically does not entail any subscription costs.