UK IPTV joint venture YouView has appointed consumer electronics veteran Lord Sugar as chairman following the resignation of Kip Meek.
Meek joined YouView last July, and helped the venture receive regulatory approval despite competition concerns from…
UK IPTV joint venture YouView has appointed consumer electronics veteran Lord Sugar as chairman following the resignation of Kip Meek.
Meek joined YouView last July, and helped the venture receive regulatory approval despite competition concerns from broadcaster BSkyB and 12 other parties.
However, it has since become besieged by technical complexities, which have pushed back its commercial roll-out from the first half of 2011 until at least 2012.
“It has been apparent for some time that the YouView board would benefit from additional expertise in consumer marketing and technology delivery,” said Meek.
“Lord Sugar clearly supplies this. As the venture progresses towards launch, the change in chairman makes sense. I wish Lord Sugar well’.
Meek’s resignation follows the departure of Anthony Rose as CTO in late December.
In a statement to media outlets on 9 February, YouView CEO Richard Halton blamed the “scale and complexity of this project” for the delays.
However, an unnamed senior executive of one of the partners of the project, which includes telcos BT and Talk Talk, was cited by reports in January claiming that the set top boxes are besieged with faults that cause them to keep crashing.
There are also reports of infighting between the partners, which also include broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and local infrastructure firm Arqiva.
Lord Sugar founded UK electronics firm Amstrad, the main manufacturer of set top boxes for BSkyB.
Commenting on the board changes, Charles Dunstone, chairman of TalkTalk, said: “Lord Sugar’s experience in delivering set top box technology to the consumer is unrivalled and we are delighted that he will be with us as we introduce a new, enhanced television experience to homes across the UK.
“As we move from the development to the delivery stage I can’t think of anyone better placed to help bring YouView to market than Lord Sugar.”
YouView declined to comment on the technical issues surrounding its set top boxes.
