YouView faces 6-month delay, SeeSaw looking for cash

YouView's UK release date currently out of view
YouView's UK release date currently out of view

YouView, the IPTV venture backed by the BBC and other big names, could face a delay of up to six months, due to technical hitches.

This is according to the Daily Mail which notes that sources close to the matter have said the launch could well be delayed until 2012.

Currently YouView is set for a Summer 2011 release, but the technical barriers getting the service to market have been underestimated and the Summer deadline is said to be optimistic.

Strategic review

In other on-demand news, SeeSaw, which rose from the ashes of Project Kangaroo, may already be around and offering on-demand content for a variety of channels but its owners Arqiva are now looking for more investment into the service.

The Guardian is noting that a strategic review is set to take place that will hopefully bring in new investment. If it doesn't then the venture may well be sold.

According to Nick Thompson, managing director of Arqiva's broadcast and media business arm, Arquiva is: "looking at SeeSaw as part of a wider strategic review and, following the success in launching a pioneering new service to both consumers and advertisers, we now believe the service needs further investment to reach its full potential.

"We need to enable a step-change in the development of the service in what is a very fast moving environment."

The success of the iPlayer in the UK was outlined this week with news that it had its best-ever viewing figures over Christmas.

The makers of SeeSaw and YouView must be looking on with envy right now.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.