Joost expresses Kangaroo concerns

Online video service Joost has hit out at the proposed Kangaroo on-demand service, arguing that the BBC-ITV-C4 joint venture will make it harder for rivals to secure terrestrial content.

In its submission to the UK Competition Commission, which is currently investigating the Kangaroo plan, Joost claims that its business “has (already) suffered as a result of its inability to get public service content in the UK” as it has done in Sweden.

It added: “(Our) inability to obtain content from the joint venture’s parents on reasonable commercial terms is a key issue limiting (our) ability to compete in the UK.

“While the parties (C4, BBC and ITV) may argue that they stand to gain more financially through a non-exclusive distribution model, the lack of any licensing deals to date with Joost, despite numerous approaches, weakens their position on this issue.”

The comments follows submissions from other parties including Pact, Arts Alliance Media and Google – as reported by C21 last week – in which the UK trade association for independent TV producers expressed grave concerns over the planned on-demand service, while the search engine giant said it didn’t expect Kangaroo to have a negative impact on competition or customers.