SeeSaw VOD service to close in June
No demand for on-demand
SeeSaw, the on-demand service which offers content form BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and ITV, has announced that it is to close – citing a strategic review by business partner Arqiva as the reason.
Created from the scraps of Project Kangaroo, SeeSaw was meant to be an on-demand service which was channel agnostic. In short: a one-stop shop for online video content.
Although it houses 3,000 hours of free content (if you could bear the pre-roll advertising), SeeSaw started to pride itself on its premium content where users could rent shows from as little as 49p.
No demand
Unfortunately, Arqiva – who is also a stakeholder in YouView, the still in development VOD hub for set tops – has decided SeeSaw isn't worth keeping, announcing it will close 20 June.
A statement from Arquiva sheds some light on the move to close SeeSaw, with the company explaining that the VOD platform needed considerable investment which Arqiva wasn't prepared to give.
"SeeSaw is an excellent service and has provided invaluable insight into the online TV market in the UK. But it no longer fits with the strategic direction in which we are taking Arqiva and requires considerable investment to succeed in an increasingly competitive market.
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"We have tried to find an investment partner, however this has not proved possible. We have therefore put SeeSaw staff on a 30-day consultation as we need to reach a conclusion by the end of our financial year on 30 June."
Big thanks
SeeSaw let its users know it was closing in a blog post, where it thanked everyone who used the platform.
"We're sad to announce that next month will be the end of the road for SeeSaw. Launched in February last year, SeeSaw has become a great place to watch TV for millions of UK viewers."
"However, following a strategic review of its business activities Arqiva, our parent company, is no longer able to support the service.
"As it will soon be 'goodbye' from SeeSaw, we'd like to take this opportunity to say a big 'thanks' for all your support, custom and loyalty over the last 16 months.
"We're a small team but we hope we've made a big difference and that you've had fun watching TV with us."
The signs that SeeSaw had some money woes were apparent back in January, when the company started asking for more funds.
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.