Project Canvas Could Foster Improvements In Fixed Broadband

A research paper by investment bank Morgan Stanley on Project Canvas, the next generation content delivery network backed by BBC, BT and others, said that it could boost the number of broadband users in the UK.

More specifically, the report said that it would encourage the six million households with broadband that are not currently subscribing for television content.

Talktalk and BT have already signed up for Project Canvas with BBC, ITV and Five being the main content suppliers. It is unlikely that other players such as Virgin Media and Sky join it because they already have rival services although the latter is mentioned in the report.

Backers of Project Canvas will know whether the project will get its final green light next month but it has been heavily criticised by Sky which says that it distorts the market as well as DTG, the body representing the manufacturers, which says that Project Canvas was akin to a closed club.

In related news, Lisa Opie, the former content head honcho at Five said that broadcasters should welcome Project Canvas as it will "allow broadcasters to develop a much stronger commercial proposition for online".

She was also adamant that had it not been stopped in its tracked, Kangaroo, the other IPTV project backed by the BBC would have been a huge success as content providers move towards a three-screen strategy involving TV, PC and mobile devices.