Screen Digest: Bright outlook for Canvas model

Market research firm Screen Digest said a U.K. hybrid TV platform like the Project Canvas model proposed by the BBC and partners that include U.K. telco BT could reach 3.5 million homes by 2014. The hitch in timing is that the much-debated Canvas idea has yet to receive all the necessary regulatory approvals. U.K. regulator Ofcom and competitors have raised concerns about the on-demand online TV approach's potential effect on the U.K. pay TV market. Also, the BBC Trust is expected to issue its review of Canvas within the next month, according to MediaWeek.

If approved by the BBC Trust, Canvas could become a market factor sometime late next year. BT recently said it was looking forward to the availability of Canvas set-top boxes, though STB cost is another factor in Canvas' future that will bear watching.

For more:
- Screen Digest has this press release
- MediaWeek U.K. has this post

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