Seesaw – the internet TV project that emerged from the ashes of the ill-fated Project Kangaroo – has gone live.
The internet service will deliver more than 3,000 hours of on-demand programming from the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel Five.
It uses some of the technology developed for Project Kangaroo, a proposed joint venture from the broadcasters that was blocked on competition grounds. Seesaw is instead being run by Arqiva, the company that owns the country’s television transmission masts, with revenues split with the broadcasters.
The service will make money from compulsory advertising that runs before the beginning and in the middle of shows, much like conventional television broadcasts.
The BBC stable of programmes come from the Beeb’s commerical arm BBC Worldwide, and are series dragged from the broadcaster’s archive. The latest shows will continue to be available from the BBC iPlayer service. Channel 4 and Channel Five will also retain their own on-demand services.
Seesaw joins an increasingly crowded market of on-demand streaming services. YouTube recently began offering full-length shows from Channel 4 and Five, and the Sky Player service has been incorporated into the Media Center of Windows 7 PCs.
The much-hyped Hulu service is also expected to arrive on British shores shortly, offering programming from a number of the major broadcasters.
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