Sky still not ruling out place on Canvas platform

Despite some fairly public objections to Project Canvas, Sky will not rule out taking advantage of the platform with its Sky Player should the BBC-led IPTV scheme prove a success.

Talking to TechRadar, Griff Parry – director of on-demand and the man behind the successful Sky Player – explained that there was no blanket refusal to become part of Canvas.

"I said publicly that I wouldn't rule it out," said Parry. "[Sky's] main concern was more to do with the part that the BBC plays.

Not hostile

"We're not hostile to connected devices, and we are keen to embrace opportunity," he added

"That's what the Sky Player program is about, and it has always been clear that we see Canvas as one of a number of platforms in this area.

"There's been a lot of Canvas rhetoric suggesting that it will be the only solution but it's becoming clear that that's not going to happen.

"Canvas…are one of several platforms in a space where so much is going on so it's about prioritising the right things."

Problems

Parry points to some key problems with Canvas, not least with the still hugely controversial decision that the user interface should be created and set by the partners rather than by manufacturers of the equipment or software.

"We have worries that Canvas isn't a particularly attractive platform to distribute on," concludes Parry.