Five

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. Due to the volume of news we are covering in this issue, our summaries are somewhat more abbreviated than usual (note: extensive background information on most of the companies and technologies covered in this issue can be found by using itvt.com's search functionality). We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers: our regular daily news coverage will return shortly.

Here are some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The partners behind Project Canvas--an initiative that sees 1) the BBC and other UK public-service broadcasters, 2) UK ISP's, BT and TalkTalk, and 3) UK broadcast transmission company, Arqiva, partnering in order to attempt to develop a common standard and interface for the delivery of online catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer, the ITV player and 4oD, as well as other Internet-based services (including VOD and interactive TV widgets), to broadband-connected Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes--announced last Friday that public-service broadcaster, Five, is ceasing its participation in the initiative, pending a review of its digital investment strategy.

The BBC on Wednesday unveiled a new beta version of its broadband VOD/OTT service, the BBC iPlayer, that features 1) what the corporation calls a "simplified and intuitive" user experience that is intended to make it easier to find content on the service; 2) personalization options that the corporation says will allow users to "create their own iPlayer experience"; and 3) social media integration. A new mobile version of the iPlayer is expected to launch in a couple of weeks.

The BBC on Wednesday released March usage statistics for its online TV and radio programming catch-up service, the BBC iPlayer. Among the highlights:

Project Canvas--an initiative that sees 1) UK public service broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, 2) UK ISP's, BT and Talk Talk, and 3), as of last week, UK broadcast transmission company, Arqiva (see the article published on itvt.com, March 23rd), partnering in order to attempt to develop a common standard and interface for the delivery of online catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer, the ITV player and 4oD, as well as other Internet-based services (including VOD and interactive TV widgets), to broadband-connected Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes (note: the partners in Project Canvas would run the platform,

Since February 3rd, [itvt] Daily News has been on hiatus, while the [itvt] editorial team produced the TV of Tomorrow Show 2010--and then took a few days off to recover. This is the sixth of eight round-up articles, in which we are covering some of the more significant developments in the multiplatform/interactive TV space that took place during our hiatus:

Rovi (formerly Macrovision--for more on the company's name change and the repositioning it heralds, see the interview with Rovi chief evangelist, Richard Bullwinkle, that was published on itvt.com, July 16th) announced last week that it plans to add OTT content from Showtime Networks and ZillionTV to its new TotalGuide consumer electronics EPG (formerly code-named "Liquid"), and also said that it is collaborating with 15 European content providers to bring content to the guide.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

According to reports from the UK that were breaking just as [itvt] went to press, Microsoft is set to launch a new MSN Video Player service in that country that will feature free, full-length programming. At launch, around 60 titles--including "Hustle," "League of Gentlemen," "Peep Show," "Shameless" and "The Young Ones"--totaling around 300 hours of programming will be available on the browser-based service, thanks to new deals that Microsoft has signed with BBC Worldwide and All3Media.

UK commercial terrestrial broadcaster, Five, says that it will make its daily highlights coverage of cricket's 2009 Ashes Test Series available through its online catch-up TV service, Demand Five, and that it will also launch a standalone Ashes microsite that will feature exclusive short-form video, as well as the long-form highlights program. This is the first time that the broadcaster has made its cricket highlights coverage available online. Under the terms of a deal between Five and the England & Wales Cricket Board, each 45-minute highlights program will be available to view online for seven days from 10:00PM each evening of play.

UK terrestrial broadcaster, Five, launched a broadband video-enabled Web portal called Holy Soap (five.tv/holysoap), Thursday, which it describes as "dedicated to Britain's unofficial religion": TV soap operas. The site replaces the standalone Web sites that Five previously offered for its Australian soap operas, "Neighbours" and "Home & Away," and offers full episodes of those shows shortly after their broadcast (Five says that up to 30 days of full episodes of the shows will be available on the site, all free-of-charge).

Broadband video publishing solutions provider, Brightcove, and UK commercial terrestrial broadcaster, Five, announced an initiative, Monday, that they say will allow Five's viewers to embed ad-supported full episodes of their favorite TV shows on their Web sites, social network profiles and blogs. The initiative makes Five the first UK broadcaster to syndicate full episodes of popular programs for catch-up viewing on third-party Web sites, the companies say.