SeeSaw, Arqiva’s attempt to create something similar to what the BBC had hoped to do, has now entered a private, invite-only beta. This will last roughly a month, with content deals being thrashed out before the launch proper.

Kangaroo – SeeSaw

SeeSaw has risen out of the ashes of Project Kangaroo, the joint project between BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 that would have seen all strands of British TV brought together in one Web video portal. That was until the Competition Commission killed Kangaroo off after BSkyB and Virgin Media pledged complaints.

The BBC and its partners have gone on to create Project Canvas, a much more ambitious effort that seeks to create a new standard and platform for IPTV in the U.K. Set-top boxes are even part of the plan.

Arqiva bought the Kangaroo infrastructure last July for an estimated £8 million ($14 million).

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The BBC iPlayer continues to go from strength to strength. Not only is it a brilliantly conceived and run, user-friendly service, it’s also still growing in popularity, breaking the 100 million requests barrier for the month of December.

And yet, the BBC Trust is set to review it the video on-demand service.

BBC iPlayer

I use the BBC iPlayer on a weekly basis. It’s brilliantly designed and brilliantly maintained. In terms of British VoD offerings, the only service that comes close is 4oD, but the iPlayer tops the Channel 4 offering on content and user-friendliness.

And it isn’t just me who thinks this. The iPlayer has been consistently growing in popularity since launch; partly due to word of mouth, partly because video on-demand is becoming more accepted in the mainstream, and partly thanks to the wealth of devices iPlayer is now available on.

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Project Canvas, the BBC-led IPTV offering for a Web TV future, finally got BBC Trust approval in December. But it still faces an uphill struggle to succeed, especially with the number of other connected TV platforms currently emerging.

Project Canvas

Project Canvas is the innovative and ambitious endeavor that emerged from the death of Project Kangaroo. The BBC is heading the charge, with backing from the likes of ITV, Five, Channel 4, BT, and TalkTalk.

Canvas is a user interface and set of Internet TV protocols that could provide a standard for everyone in the future. There are also plans to release an Internet-connected set-top box by the end of this year.

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The BBC iPlayer has now been with us for two whole years, and in that time has grown in usability and popularity. To celebrate this anniversary, the BBC has revealed usage stats for the service, including popular content, popular times for watching, and how the iPlayer is accessed.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC launched the iPlayer on Christmas Day 2007 after six months in beta. In that short time, the iPlayer had already been improved substantially, with streaming options added as well as download options, and operating systems other than Windows supported.

Since then, the iPlayer has grown in leaps and bounds.

This year saw a semi-relaunch with downloads for Mac and Linux users, and HD content added to the already impressive line-up of content. The iPlayer also migrated to a number of other devices, including the PS3, the Wii, and the iPhone.

The BBC has marked the iPlayer’s second birthday by releasing detailed stats for the service in 2009.

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In what is an early Christmas present to lovers of online video in the U.K., the BBC Trust has approved the BBC’s participation in Project Canvas. Along with partners ITV, Five, Channel 4, BT, and TalkTalk, the BBC is now fully on board Project Canvas.

Canvas Emerges

Project Canvas emerged in the aftermath of Project Kangaroo, which the Competition Commission shuttered after complaints from Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB and Virgin Media about the possibility of it creating a monopoly.

The BBC moved on to Project Canvas, a more ambitious undertaking, and one that has also been the subject of criticism from BSkyB and Virgin Media, the largest satellite and cable operators in the U.K.

But no matter, as Project Canvas has now cleared the first hurdle on its path to becoming reality.

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As soon as Project Kangaroo was killed at birth the BBC began work on Project Canvas. This is a bigger, bolder attempt at standardizing Internet TV at this early stage of its infancy.

However, Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB isn’t happy with the proposals, and BBC red tape means it probably won’t arrive until 2011 – if at all.

Kangaroo To Canvas

Project Kangaroo was a joint project between the BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, the big three broadcasters in the U.K. It would have resulted in a one-stop shop for the online catch-up services currently offered by all three separately.

Unfortunately, BSkyB and Virgin Media complained about the project and the Competition Commission consequently culled the project before it truly got off the ground. The technology was then sold to Arqiva, which plans to use it to set up its own online television service.

However, the BBC had already moved onto Project Canvas. The same companies are involved, along with British Telecom, with Canvas conceived as an open standard for online video. Set-top boxes would mean viewers had access to a whole range of Internet TV.

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The BBC iPlayer continues to go from strength to strength. Last week saw the service win the Judges’ Award at the 2009 Royal Television Society Innovation Awards and get its own dedicated channel on the Nintendo Wii.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer has shone like a beacon since its full launch almost two years ago in December 2007. The catch-up TV service lead the way not only in the U.K. but around the world, with Hulu being its big-name opposite in the U.S.

Rather than rest on its laurels, the BBC carried on improving the service despite already providing millions of streams to viewers. The current iteration of the iPlayer service is more user-friendly and easy-to-use than any Web application or online video site.

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