Channel Five quits Project Canvas

CHANNEL FIVE has quit Project Canvas to review its digital investment strategy.

Canvas will continue with the BBC, BT, ITV, Channel 4, Talk Talk and Arqiva, with an expected commercial launch in the first half of 2011. Talk Talk has already announced a broadband deal with Project Canvas to be offered as a set top box product next year. Canvas is likely to be renamed for its commercial launch.

Channel Five's strategy director Charles Constable said "We continue to support the objectives of Project Canvas and despite withdrawing our interest in the venture we believe it will be a critical part of our strategy for reaching consumers in the future."

Project Canvas is creating a standards based, open Internet-connected TV environment. It proposes to offer viewers access to normal TV channels, video-on-demand, web-based content including high definition and interactive services.

Canvas has been criticised by Sky and Virgin Media as being state intervention, because of the BBC's leadership of the project, and as anti-competitive. However Project Canvas' CTO Anthony Rose has said that both companies are welcome to join the project as it exists to allow consumers to watch both free and pay-to-view programming.

Rose previously has blamed digital rights management for limiting Canvas to a set top box and not allowing it to be used on desktop computers and mobile devices.

Last week Canvas published information on its content protection strategy, designed to enable the project to support the widest possible range of content types for internet-connected TV audiences, to tackle this DRM issue. Materials to aid device manufacturers, content providers and retailers to co-operate with this strategy are to be made available by the end of this month. µ