Can Kangaroo bounce back?

Project Kangaroo, announced last year, brings TV content from all three broadcasters into one handy website. A website that was too handy for rivals, including Virgin Media and Sky.

They among others complained to the Competition Commission, and they've decided that Kangaroo in its proposed form would be anti-competitive.

Kangaroo hoped to emulate the success of Hulu, a video serviced owned by US networks Fox and NBC, by making money through advertising and gaining exclusive access to programmes through its cosy position with the broadcasters.

Online TV plans setback

The ruling that the same programmes must be made available to rivals brings into question the point of Kangaroo. Kangaroo, today pledged to work through these issues with the authorities.

The Competition Commission ruled proposals to archive programmes online cannot go ahead in it current form.

It's calling for major changes to the service, or it says it will ban it all together, a serious setback to the broadcasters' plans to start making money from the internet.

Background: What is Project Kangaroo?

Codenamed Kangaroo, the video-on-demand service is a joint venture between BBC World Service, ITV and Channel 4. It was first announced in November 2007 and was described as a 'one-stop shop' for video content online.

The three broadcasters were due to offer more than 10,000 hours of TV programming to viewers, more than 90 per cent for free. Other content was scheduled to be available for rent or purchase.

But the project has seen its fair share of ups and downs. In November 2008 Ashley Highfield, the newly appointed chief executive, resigned after four months in the job and the previous launch date of October 2008 looks to have been put back to March 2009.

This latest setback now sees Kangaroo facing major changes to its delivery model to ensure that content is still available to rival video-on-demand providers like Sky.

The Competition Commission is also seeking "comments on how to address the loss of competition and its adverse effects for viewers".

The final report will be published in February 2009 after further consultation with the main stakeholders and interested parties.

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