YouView burns through £20 million

Yet-to-launch on-demand service YouView has burned through £19.7 million (€24 million) ahead of its planned launch.

The service, which is backed by the BBC, BT, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV and TalkTalk, has faced various issues delaying its rollout, including delays in the availability of set-top boxes. The service now plans to launch this summer with a trial scheduled for early this year.

The BBC created Project Canvas, since renamed YouView, in October 2008. The initiative was based around developing an open and standardised IP-based TV platform that would take programmes delivered via the open internet to TV sets. It plans use a hybrid model, providing an IP on-demand element alongside linear DTT or satellite broadcasts.