New set-back for Kangaroo

BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 have been dealt a further blow to their hopes of getting Project Kangaroo off the ground, after the UK Competition Commission pushed back the deadline for its investigation.

The Commission originally intended to report back on its findings by December 14 but said today it had to been forced to draw out this process due to a lack of relevant information from the joint venture’s partners.

The Commission said its initial questions had “revealed a number of

important issues which are outstanding between the parties and which

they have indicated they are unable to resolve without further negotiation.”

BBCWW, ITV and C4 had hoped to resolve these issues by the end of last month but this didn’t happen. This means the UK’s competition authority will now not offer its conclusions until mid-January next year, based on the assumption that it receives the details it requires by early September. It did, however, say it may be able to respond sooner, depending on the parties’ progress.

The OFT said it had concerns that “the concentration of these important and competing libraries of UK TV programming may give market power to the joint venture,” such that it might be able to charge higher prices both for wholesale syndication and direct to consumers.

ITV executive chairman Michael Grade lambasted the move, saying that it would give US companies like Google and Apple a chance to build up “market-dominating” positions online, to the detriment of UK businesses.

In an interview with C21 published here today, C4 director of new media and technology Jon Gisby, who represents the broadcaster on the Kangaroo board, says: “From a consumer point of view, the proposition that is being built up around Kangaroo brings all sorts of benefits that wouldn’t exist in any other way. If therefore it doesn’t go through I think that’s going to be a real loss.

“This has been a project that’s had a fair degree of effort put into it over a fair degree of time, and clearly from an internal point of view it would be a shame if that effort didn’t lead to the place that we want it to. Other than that, there’s not a lot to say.”