Arqiva has announced the Company 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 U.K. 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.
