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Canvas calls up Arqiva, puts case to regulators Arqiva, the parent company of UK VoD start-up SeeSaw, has come on board BBC-championed joint venture IPTV initiative Project Canvas as it faces new scrutiny from regulators. The broadcast transmission company, which is already a joint venture partner in UK digital terrestrial platform Freeview, will now join the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, BT and TalkTalk as seventh member of the Canvas consortium. The BBC said last summer that it wanted Arqiva to join in with Canvas and confirmation that it will do so came today, at the same time as it came to light that the consortium had put its plans before the UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Canvas members have presented their case to the OFT in an attempt to quell criticism that has come from the likes of BSkyB and Virgin Media and to establish that the JV doesn't constitute a merger situation. The move opens the way, however, for Canvas opponents to put their case to the regulator, which will then decide whether or not to refer the venture to the Competition Commission (CC). Sky and Virgin have previously only been able to air their grievances with the BBC's independent governing body. The BBC Trust provisionally approved Canvas at the end of last year and was due to give its final verdict this month, but this has now been pushed back. In 2008, Sky and Virgin successfully lobbied the OFT over the BBC/ITV/Channel 4 Project Kangaroo online JV proposal. The plan was referred to the CC, which ultimately put the kibosh on it. Arqiva ended up buying the Kangaroo assets and used them to launch SeeSaw. "The Canvas partners are clear that the joint venture does not qualify as a merger, and we welcome the opportunity to clarify this position formally," said project director Richard Halton. "We are delighted that Arqiva have committed themselves to the project. They have a history of positive and progressive support for Freeview, and Project Canvas will benefit hugely from both their experience and engineering expertise." Jonathan Webdale 22 Mar 2010 © C21 Media 2010 
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