The
Competition Commission has blocked the online joint TV venture
between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4.
The Commission said, the Kangaroo Project as it is known,would
have a detrimental impact on competition in the
video-on-demand (VOD) market. VOD makes programmes available to
viewers at any time over the internet.
Evidence it collected showed viewers value UK-made programmes
above other forms of content, said the commission.
The problem, it said, is that BBC Worldwide, ITV, and Channel 4
control most of these programmes, putting them in a "very strong
position as wholesalers of TV content to restrict competition from
other current and future providers of VOD."
The commission said that none of the possible remedies that
might have diluted the monopoly and maintained competition in the
market went far enough.
ITV chief executive Michael Grade said the company was
"surprised" by the decision."We believed that the Kangaroo joint
venture, competing in a crowded online world against dominant
global brands, was an attractive UK consumer proposition," he
said.
"However, in the two years since the idea for Kangaroo was born,
the success of ITV.com has proved that our UK content is attractive
enough to stand on its own and we remain focussed on our online
growth."
He said ITV would realise further news on its online plans in
its full-year results on March 4.