This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Legal Media
Kangaroo blocked
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 4 February 2009
Plans to launch a joint on-demand TV service that would be owned by and take programmes from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have been blocked by the Competition Commission.
As previously reported, the Commission expressed its initial concerns that a collaboration between BBC Worldwide, ITV and C4 would be anti-competitive back in December, though suggested there might be room for compromise if Kangaroo agreed to certain conditions.
But no agreement could be reached between the Commission and the Kangaroos on what conditions would be mutually acceptable, so this morning the regulator blocked the whole project.
In a joint statement, BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 said this: “We are disappointed by the decision to prohibit this joint venture. While this is an unwelcome finding for the shareholders, the real losers from this decision are British consumers. This is a disproportionate remedy and a missed opportunity in the further development of British broadcasting”.
Meanwhile ITV top man Michael Grade told CMU: “We are surprised by this decision because we believed that the Kangaroo joint venture, competing in a crowded online world against dominant global brands, was an attractive UK consumer proposition, free at the point of use. However, in the two years since the idea for Kangaroo was born, the success of ITV.com has proved that our UK content is attractive enough to stand on its own and we remain focussed on our online growth. We will provide a further update on our online plans with our full year results on 4 Mar”.
