ITV trials broadband TV service
Screen grab of the ITV local broadband TV service
ITV will roll service out to other regions if successful
One of the UK's leading terrestrial broadcasters is to throw its hat
into the broadband TV ring.
ITV will trial a TV service via the internet, which will offer people
the chance to create their own schedules and broadcasts.
Local content, including classified advertisements, will be key to the
new service.
Using high-speed net connections to deliver TV content is capturing the
imagination of broadcasters and telcos.
The three-month trial will initially be aimed at viewers in Brighton
and Hastings, although ITV plans to extend to other regions if it is
deemed a success.
Viewers will be invited to upload their own reports and budding
film-makers will be able to showcase their films as part of a drive
towards citizen-led TV.
Local TV
ITV sees the broadband service as a chance to reassert its commitment
to local services.
TV set
Q&A: Internet Protocol TV
"ITV has been proud of its regional services for 50 years, but until
now we haven't had the delivery systems to provide a truly local
service," said Lindsay Charlton, managing director of ITV Meridian.
"The rapid advance in the number of broadband homes in the UK, combined
with improvements in streaming technology, has transformed the
opportunities for local broadcasting," she said.
Broadband TV - formally known as internet protocol TV - is set to
transform broadcasting, making TV more web-like with a choice of
millions of shows to download.
Experts predict that, within five years, many households will have both
a conventional broadcast signal delivered via satellite, aerial or
cable as well as TV via their broadband connection.
The BBC is also experimenting with broadband TV and is currently
conducting a three month trial of its so-called Integrated Media Player
(iMP).
The application, utilising peer-to-peer technology, allows people to
download TV and radio programmes they may have missed up to seven days
after it has been broadcast.
Broadband TV puts the control of what content is watched and when in
the hands of the viewer and already enterprising individuals are using
the technology to create their own TV channels.
In Italy one man uses broadband TV to deliver news to the rest of his
apartment block, while in Norway the technology is used to tune into
live traffic camera streams.
