The BBC is in talks with ITV and Channel 4 over plans to launch a unified on-demand TV service. The aim is to enable viewers to download and watch programmes up to seven days after their original broadcast - no matter which of the three broadcasters they've come from.

The new service will "do for broadband what Freeview did for digital television," one industry insider told The Guardian . The service - codenamed Project Kangaroo - would be internet based inititally. But would then spread to your TV via Freeview, much like Sky Anytime . An on-demand service through your TV from Freeview would also pose a threat to IPTV services such as BT Vision .

Industry insiders believe a deal is likely, because the BBC's Freeview initiative proved that broadcasters could work together. Project Kangaroo would be delivered as an additional application in Freeview set-top boxes. The Guardian says that talks have already begun with the Digital Television Group (DTG) which specifies Freeview boxes.