The service is now awaiting the final verdict of the BBC Trust, unless there are further competition investigations. The clearance from the OFT was critical, he added. When asked if he expected to see further challenges to the legitimacy of the venture, Dunstone said: "I'm sure there will be other people with vested interests that will put their position forward." In its ruling earlier this week the OFT indicated that while Project Canvas had been cleared of breaking regulations surrounding mergers it could still be subject to the "application of other provisions of competition law and other relevant legislation". "There has been some debate over how to get there but not what it is ultimately going to do." "The good thing is that everyone who went into it had a clear idea of the product that will be produced," he said. It has to be easy and simple enough for customers to use."ĭunstone admitted that there had been arguments over strategy among the seven partners in Canvas, but dismissed this as natural debate on the road to what was a clear long-term goal. "It is being done in the most democratic way possible – it will work with any internet service provider, for example. "There needs to be a certain discipline about the platform and what you use," he said. Canvas is empowering all kinds of people to bring services to the market."ĭunstone dismissed accusations that TV rivals and hardware companies, such as set-top-box manufacturers, would be unfairly forced to adopt a Project Canvas user interface, effectively the look and feel of the onscreen experience, to be a partner. Now people can access the same content via different channels. What is happening is the unbundling of TV – historically, content was attached to the person who was in control of the delivery mechanism. "Canvas is a completely open platform, anyone can join it. "I am a very fair person and very pro competition but I do find it hard to accept their criticism," said Dunstone, speaking to .uk. Virgin Media has argued that despite its protestations to the contrary Project Canvas, which will bring VoD content to TV viewers with Freeview and Freesat receivers, is an unfair closed platform. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".BSkyB has argued that Project Canvas, and particularly its backing by the licence fee-funded BBC, amounts to giving its rivals an unfair leg up in the nascent UK VoD market. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email or phone 020 3353 3857. "Regardless of the potential significance of Project Canvas joint venture for the future of internet-connected television, the notified proposals do not give rise to a merger qualifying for substantive investigation by the OFT," said the OFT director of mergers, Sheldon Mills.Ī Virgin Media spokeswoman said: "As they stand, the Canvas proposals risk severely restricting competition and innovation in the UK's digital media landscape." In December the BBC Trust gave provisional approval for Project Canvas, which the OFT started investigating in March, which has been heavily criticised by commercial rivals including BSkyB and Virgin Media. The OFT added that today's decision "does not preclude the application of other provisions of competition law and other relevant legislation". "This is a further reason why the OFT does not have the legal power to review substantively Project Canvas under UK merger control laws," said the regulator. The OFT also said that it found that none of the partners would have a "material influence" over the policy of the venture – the "lowest level of control that may give rise to a relevant merger situation". "Unlike in the Project Kangaroo joint venture which was blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009, it is not proposed that the joint venture partners will contribute any video-on-demand content or other business to Canvas, and Canvas will have no role in aggregating, marketing or directly retailing any such television content," said the OFT. However, the regulator made it clear that it viewed Project Canvas as a completely different venture. Last year the OFT blocked Project Kangaroo, another VoD joint venture developed by ITV, Channel 4 and BBC Worldwide. does not qualify for investigation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002," said the regulator. "The OFT has today concluded that Project Canvas. Project Canvas, the joint venture to bring VoD content to digital viewers with Freeview and Freesat, has backers including the BBC, BT, TalkTalk and ITV.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |