London: YouView, a free UK television service combining digital channels with on-demand programming, launched some two years behind schedule on Wednesday, hoping to appeal to households unwilling to shell out on pay-TV from BSkyB or Virgin Media.
But the service, backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Arqiva, BT and TalkTalk, is entering a crowded market and its initial offer of catch-up services like iPlayer and digital channels available on the rival Freeview service may not make an impact, analysts say.
Lord Sugar, the businessman and TV personality bought in as YouView chairman last year to bring leadership to the floundering project, said it was aimed at the 13-15 million British households without a pay-TV deal.
"The Freeview audience don't want to be tied to a contract, they only need this box," he said....
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11:57 AM, Jul 05, 2012
London: A consortium of British companies said their planned new Web-TV service would be subscription-free, as broadcasters, Web firms and electronics makers scramble to capture a nascent Internet TV market. YouView, a joint venture of seven partners including the state-owned BBC previously known as Project Canvas, said it would charge no subscription for its video-on-demand and catch-up offerings but viewers would have to buy a set-top box. Web search group...
11:38 AM, Sep 17, 2010
