•   Platform assets being sold to Arqiva as independent operator
•   Assets to provide technical basis of new video-on-demand service to be launched in the coming months
•   Service will aim to provide high-quality, long-form content from both leading broadcasters and independent content providers

Arqiva has today announced that it has agreed to acquire the platform assets of Project Kangaroo, the video-on-demand (VOD) platform developed by UKVOD LLP, a joint venture set up by BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4.  The acquisition is expected to be concluded within a few weeks.

The assets comprise the hardware and software technology, and related intellectual property developed for the Project Kangaroo service.  They provide the technical basis of a VOD platform designed for a content aggregation service, where a wide variety of TV content is brought together in a one-stop-shop for long-form video content.  Under Project Kangaroo the platform was close to being ready for market launch before the initiative was prohibited by the Competition Commission.

Arqiva plans to use the Project Kangaroo platform assets to launch a new video-on-demand service to UK consumers in the coming months.  The platform will aim to host top-end quality content from leading broadcasters and independent content providers to provide a broad range of user experiences to its audiences.  Arqiva says that both free-to-air and pay content propositions will be offered.

Steve Holebrook, managing director for Terrestrial Broadcast at Arqiva, said: “We are delighted to have reached this agreement to acquire the platform assets of Project Kangaroo.  Arqiva and its direct predecessors have been delivering linear analogue and digital TV services to UK viewers for many decades and we’re currently upgrading the TV network to deliver DSO.  We believe that online video-on-demand is an exciting and complementary development, and a natural extension to our traditional broadcast business.”

As owner and operator of the UK’s terrestrial TV infrastructure and licence holder of two of the six digital terrestrial TV multiplexes, Arqiva already has strong relationships with public-service broadcasters and other content providers in the UK.