Archive for the ‘C4’ Category

Channel 4 has tweaked its 4OD catch-up service, and officially launched the revamp today.

4OD can be accessed at any time online, but now users can activate ‘My 4OD’, giving them the option of adding programme preferences and creating personalised playlists. This new aspect of the website will send reminders to users of ‘My 4OD’, letting them know that their favourites are due to air.

In order to activate ‘My 4OD’, users will need to register various details including date of birth.

The revamp also includes improved full-page viewing and search, as well as a recommendation service.
Sarah Milton, Head of VoD at Channel 4, said: “We have refined and optimised the design to ensure viewers get the best experience from the wealth of content Channel 4 has to offer.”

“We have over 5,000 hours of archive programming available on the Channel4.com 4oD service, and the redesign makes it even easier for users to browse our offering.”

According to The Telegraph, Channel 4 is hoping to tailor the advert selection for particular demographics by utilising the information from ‘My 4OD’.

4OD is still operating in the shadow of BBC iPlayer, although The Guardian reports impressive viewing figures of 3.4m for Channel 4’s service, which offers on demand episodes of popular shows such as Hollyoaks, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and The I.T. Crowd. 4OD, like its BBC rival, can be accessed on TV at home through Virgin Media and BT Vision packages.

The hugely popular on demand catch-up service BBC iPlayer is now available in full to BT Vision customers.

Back in November last year, the BBC announced plans to bring the iPlayer to BT Vision, and TechRadar has confirmed the news that the complete service is now active. Some BBC content was already available through BT Vision’s TV Replay, but now the IPTV provider’s customers can access over 400 hours of BBC TV and 1,000 hours of BBC radio.

BT Retail’s chief exec of TV and online services said: “The launch of BBC iPlayer on BT Vision adds to the enormous range of quality entertainment already available to our customers.”

“We are really excited to be partnering with the BBC to bring BBC iPlayer to our customers.”

BBC iPlayer gives UK viewers the chance to watch the latest episodes of popular BBC shows such as Eastenders, Have I Got News For You, The Apprentice and Top Gear, as well as UK radio favourites including The Chris Moyles Show.

BT Vision provides digital TV through a BT Broadband connection in the home, and offers a wide range of Freeview channels, as well as the option to pay for movies and sport, and the catch-up service now includes programmes from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Satellite giant Sky has hinted at an unexpected U-turn regarding proposed on-demand TV service YouView.

YouView, formerly known as Project Canvas, will be an internet-connected TV service, offering the last 7 days of content at the touch of a button. It has officially been in the pipeline since late 2008, and collaborators have been welcomed.

Whilst BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five have all been firmly on board as owners/shareholders, the potential participation of Sky seemed dead in the water when the digital TV broadcaster tried to block the project in October of last year.

However, a Sky spokesman has now suggested that involvement may still be an option: “We already distribute Sky content across a wide range of platforms.”

“It makes sense for us to continue to explore new ways of reaching customers, but it’s too early to say at this stage whether we’ll offer a service over YouView.”

This non-committal, but intriguing, quote is the latest development in a complicated history for YouView, as the project was also publicly opposed by Virgin Media, whilst 3View managing director John Donovan expressed concerns about the market impact.

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Internet TV service SeeSaw has launched a pay-TV service with thousands of hours worth of content available, and even more to come in the near future, according to Marketingmagazine.co.uk.

Programming from UK and US broadcasters is now available, with prices starting at 99p for a single episode, whilst a whole series costs anything from £3.99 to £17.99.

When you rent a single episode it will be available for up to 30 days; you have a 48 hour window in which to watch it once viewing has commenced.

Similarly, a whole series is available for 90 days, with the 48 hour window applying to each individual episode.

The new content includes a mix of popular modern and classic TV shows such as Spooks, Fawlty Towers, Top Gear, I’m Alan Partridge, Lost, Ugly Betty and South Park.

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The official launch of Freeview HD has taken place today. Subscription-free and in stunning high definition, Freeview HD can now be accessed by millions of people in the UK.

Freeview HD coverage will reach 4.5 million new homes from March 31st, with residents of Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff all able to benefit from the free service for the first time. Freeview wants its HD service to reach 50% of the UK by the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and it is well on course to achieve that target.

Freeview HD boxes are now available to purchase from £99.99, whilst HD TVs with integrated Freeview are retailing for at least £500, although you can expect to pay at least £1,000 if you buy direct from the manufacturer. Current manufacturers include Sony, Panasonic, Humax and Bush, whilst Philips, LG and Samsung will be producing models soon. Freeview HD+ boxes, enabling the viewer to pause, rewind and record live TV, will cost at least £250, and should be available from April.

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Film4 HD, the high definition version of Channel 4’s hugely popular free movie channel, will be exclusively premiered by Virgin Media in the summer of this year. Virgin Media has also struck a deal giving them the same rights to E4 HD.

With Sky currently offering customers up to 37 HD channels, Virgin Media is working to keep up with its main rival by expanding its own HD repertoire. Virgin Media’s current selection includes BBC HD, C4 HD, ESPN HD, National Geographic HD and Living HD (another exclusive), with Discovery HD and Eurosport HD joining the list soon.

The exclusive rights to Film4 HD will be seen as a massive coup; fans of Film4 will inevitably want to take advantage of access to the channel’s eclectic array of movies in gorgeous high definition. It is a true statement of intent from Virgin Media, clearly indicating to customers and competitors that they mean business and they mean it in HD.

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We’ve been keeping you updated on SeeSaw, Arqiva’s online video on demand service. Digital Spy today revealed that a £5m marketing campaign will begin tonight, with Channel 4 showing a variety of ten-second teasers. Advertising will then extend to ITV, Five, other digital TV channels and various websites with high-traffic.

Seesaw was made public on 17th February, with 3,000 hours of free content. SeeSaw’s chief executive Pierre-Jean Sebert was originally quoted in The Telegraph as saying: “We estimate that there are two and a half million people in the UK regularly watching TV via video on demand services such as BBC iPlayer.”

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You might have seen something about SeeSaw her on this blog before. SeeSaw is a forthcoming online video on-demand platform a la YouTube and BBC iPlayer which will feature content from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. According to a pice in yesterday’s Guardian, trials of the new software begin today. SeeSaw’s website says that the trial is “currently invitation-only. We’d like to see what people think of our service then make it even better.”

The SeeSaw website found here features a very Freesat-esque design and comes with the tagline “Just wait until you SeeSaw”. From here you can register your details and apply for an invitation. Don’t expect an immediate reply though, SeeSaw will be sending out invites on a gradual basis in order for them to perfect the service for launch.

Just to clarify: SeeSaw is a video on demand enterprise owned by Arqiva, which bought the technology from Project Kangaroo - the multi platform venture started by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 which was ultimately sidelined by the Competition Commission. It is not related to Project Canvas, which offers a similar service. SeeSaw is an online on-demand venture whereas Project Canvas is thought to offer a similar service accessed on TV sets connected to the internet.

When broadband and phone provider TalkTalk bought out rivals Tiscali last year, it rebranded the Tiscali TV IPTV platform under the TalkTalk TV banner. This aside, nothing much has changed. Recent noises from TalkTalk HQ suggest that any change on this front won’t be imminent.

A post over on Cable.co.uk quotes CEO Charles Dunstone saying in a conference call that the company’s roots are “not in TV”, and that “it would be foolhardy to deliver our own TV proposition against Freeview, Sky and Virgin.” Tellingly, he neglected to mention BT Vision.

“We have a much better chance of succeeding alongside the PSBs with [Project] Canvas when it is ready,” he added.

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Graham Norton has been chosen to host the BBC’s New Year celebration show, according to The Sun.

BBC executives have announced that the show will be pre-recorded in December, rather than being shown live, in order to attract more high-profile guests who are likely to have other engagements on New Year’s Eve itself.

The show will take the form of an “entertainment spectacular” based around Norton’s hit BBC1 chat show, but will cut live to BBC Scotland for the traditional Hogmanay celebrations around midnight.

“Landing the show is a coup for Graham as it’s a plum slot - millions tune in,” said a BBC insider. “The idea is for it to be a little bit more family-focused as youngsters will also be watching.”

The last New Year’s Eve event that Norton recorded was at the millennium for Channel 4.