Canvas, Darwin, Kangaroo – what do they all mean?

Posted by Chris Wynn Friday, November 28th, 2008

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Broadcasters and content owners are now convinced that the internet offers a technically viable means to distribute content to consumers. For some, but not all, it will be commercially viable too. But will it be limited to the internet?

The answer is definitely “no”. Project Canvas is particularly interesting as it would see the UK public-service broadcasters create an open platform to offer video-on-demand over IP using the “open” internet to the television set. For the first time, it will give the PSBs a digital platform they can truly own, but it also raises some competition concerns, which must first be overcome to avoid Canvas drawing a blank.

Project Darwin is BSkyB’s initiative to connect its high-end set-top boxes to the internet. It wants to use the open internet to do this next year rather than investing heavily in a managed IPTV network.
It’s a smart move, as Sky needs a comprehensive on-demand service to compete in the connected world. It’s likely to use “progressive downloading”, where the content starts downloading to the hard disk of its digital-video recorders before playing on screen to ensure that quality of service can be (virtually) guaranteed.

Kangaroo, the joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, wants to offer its online platform for archive rights to the likes of the Freesat digital-satellite service. The Competition Commission has been reviewing the Kangaroo proposition after a flurry of complaints and will announce preliminary findings next week.
There is a lot at stake so don’t be fooled by the silly project names. Online distribution is starting to define the next phase of the broadcasting industry