YouView is a “catalyst for investment” in UK IPTV, a spokesman has told TelecomFinance. This follows reported claims by corporate finance group Avista Partners that the UK IPTV joint venture is suffocating investment in rival online TV developers.
Avista…
YouView is a “catalyst for investment” in UK IPTV, a spokesman has told TelecomFinance. This follows reported claims by corporate finance group Avista Partners that the UK IPTV joint venture is suffocating investment in rival online TV developers.
Avista blames Youview, which is backed by British telcos BT and TalkTalk, for a sharp decline in UK IPTV investment since 2008, when the JV was first announced.
In 2007 investment in the UK IPTV sector was around US$35m (£22m), but in the past 12 months the sector saw just US$400,000 of investment outside of YouView’s partners, it is claimed.
In contrast, it is reported that US$91m was invested in IPTV in the US for the 12 months before YouView plans were unveiled, rising to US$176m for the last 12 months.
According to the YouView spokesperson, “YouView should be considered a catalyst for investment in the UK and not the contrary. There is plenty of evidence to confirm that YouView will enable growth in IPTV and encourage investment in all levels of the market from content providers and suppliers to device manufacturers.
“For example, a recent analysis by investment firm JP Morgan, cited that ‘YouView will improve video on demand, further broadband penetration, increase superfast broadband take-up, and will act to stimulate greater convergence between telecoms and TV’.”
YouView expects to launch in the first half of next year, but has been plagued by calls for telecoms regulator Ofcom to launch an inquiry into the service.
Groups to have placed official complaints include UK broadband and cable operator Virgin Media, IPVision, the DTT/IPTV over-the-top provider, and Open Source Consortium, the open standards software trade body.
It is expected that Ofcom will decide whether to launch such an inquiry by November this year.
Avista Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
