Online VOD Service, SeeSaw, to Launch Invitation-Only Beta Today

SeeSaw--the broadband VOD service that broadcast transmission company, Arqiva, is developing following its acquisition of the platform assets of Project Kangaroo, the VOD platform developed by UKVOD, a joint venture between the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and terrestrial broadcasters, ITV and Channel 4, for a price believed to be in the £8 million range (note: Project Kangaroo was believed to be close to launch, when it was nixed in February by the Competition Commission, an independent public body that investigates mergers, markets and regulated industries at the UK government's behest)--will today (Tuesday) begin a private beta which over the coming weeks is expected to include up to 10,000 invitees.

The service, which has secured content deals with the BBC, Channel 4 and Five, is expected to initially offer around 2,000 hours of programming (it is expected to offer around 3,500 hours when it launches commercially). Some of the service's content will be ad-supported and offered free of charge, while other content (including live sports and US imports) will be offered on a pay-per-view basis. Arqiva plans to back the service's commercial launch--which is currently scheduled for March--with a £5 million advertising campaign that will be managed by high-profile agency, Fallon. The service's user interface was designed by ioko, which also designed Sky's, ITV's and Channel 4's online catch-up TV services.

In an interview with the Financial Times, SeeSaw platform controller, John Keeling, stated that the service's content offerings will be presented through channels, including "Critically Acclaimed Drama" and "The Best Years of Your Life." He added that the service will be able to add and highlight new channels in response to current events. "The ambition for the site is very much that we keep it as current and alive as possible," Keeling told the newspaper. "The great thing about a site such as SeeSaw is that we can react to the events of the day. We have programming to reflect what is happening to the world, and we have the ability to bring it to the surface to highlight it immediately." According to an article in The Guardian, SeeSaw has been engaged in negotiations with connected TV manufacturers and with Project Canvas (note: the latter is a joint venture between UK public service broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, and UK ISP's, BT and Talk Talk, that is attempting to develop a common standard and interface for the delivery of online services to broadband-connected Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes) about bringing its service to the living room TV.