Not something you would normally expect to see, a bouncing Kangaroo creating Video On-Demand. However, this is a kangaroo with a difference. For in its pouch, it contains not a Roo Baby, but a selection of the UK’s terrestrial channels. Thats right, C4, ITV and BBC have combined to create a VOD service “for many of their programmes” (as the Guardian puts it).
The VOD service, announced yesterday, will go live in 2008 and one can presume will be a starting point for the BBC to enter into paid VOD advertising, thus establishing itself with a new revenue stream. The BBC traditionally struggles to maintain any sort of income outside of the license fee model, so this will clearly be welcomed by them.
What isn’t clear to me is why C4 has done this when they were the first broadcaster to launch a VOD service? Surely this will cause attrition across their platform, although one would guess an additional level of users can be reached, so co-op rather than compete. it also feels that C4 is possibly taking one-step backwards in aligning with the BBC, rather than two steps forward to beat it.
Matt Bamford-Bowes
