In an excited press release Tiscali warned that if given the go-ahead, Kangaroo could destroy the entire UK pay-TV market.
Kangaroo is the project name for the joint venture between BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the beeb), ITV and Channel 4. However, Tiscali is argueing that if it is allowed to launch there will be a dramatic impact on not only themselves, but also BT Vision, Sky and Virgin Media.
So what does that mean? Tiscali suggest that the victims of the fallout will be viewers as pay-TV platforms will not continue to broadcast channels such as National Geographic, Discovery or LIving as the business model for these is based on advertising. Without viewers, these channels cannot survive. But isn’t that the whole point? If we’re all watching something else, why then do we need the Discovery Channel?
Tiscali’s main concern isn’t the technology, but the distribution advantage that the Kangaroo partners have, despite pay-TV being dominated by BSkyB and Virgin. Despite this, projects like Kangaroo are inevitable as TV/Online/Mobile converge – the only question is will be all end up watching Big Brother? I hope not!