We warned BBC director-general Mark Thompson back in March that his Project Canvas was likely to face Kangaroo-style competition scrutiny. Now Sky has ripped the proposal to shreds in a 14-page BBC Trust submission designed to open a competition inquiry. Sky says…
— It’s anti-competitive: Canvas “has the propensity to affect significantly the development of existing and emerging competition”. Sky reckons “the BBC is considering specifying its own potentially new set of standards” – that’s despite IPTV director Richard Halton recently saying he’s not interested in new standards.
— Trust should have launched stronger review: Just as Ofcom complained in April, Sky also says the trust should go beyond its mere consultation on the project and open a full public value test, including Ofcom’s usual market impact assessment. The trust is “defective” because it “has chosen to consult on proposals that are both inchoate and potentially far-reaching, with insufficient time or certainty to allow proper consideration by respondents”.
— Canvas exceeds BBC’s remit: “The BBC