Why the industry is getting so jumpy about Kangaroo

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/21/bbc

• New spotware called kangaroo is a joint venture between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, Kangaroo is designed to be a sort of commercial iPlayer, establishing a presence in the fast-developing internet video-download market and thereby raising revenues by selling programmes to stream or download direct to consumers with a rumoured 10,000 hours of content.
• software said to be launched this year as early as june 2008
• However there was trouble from the start e.g the BBC Trust has yet to give its approval to it being launched. main issue: - the need to "avoid distorting the market"
• problems about the issues of the holders of the rights to the content that kangaroo will distribute - not just content from the three joint venture partners (BBC, ITV, C4) , but independant producers of content aswell who will need to be reassured that Kangaroo's deals are fully competitive with whatever anyone else might pay - BBC Worldwide are in charge of this
• other issues including ther interest of other players whose businesses are based on having access to BBC, ITV and Channel 4 programming; kangaroo will be controlling access to some 90% of UK-originated programming and with a direct interest - because it is a competing platform - in putting them out of business.
  
• Another potential issue is whether Kangaroo could drastically reduce BBC revenues from DVD sales and cause havoc with other players who currently pay lots of money to license BBC content, plus Kangaroo is being referred to the Office of Fair Trading.
• Negotiating an agreement between the shareholders is also proving troublesome, as ownership is split three ways but the parties bring different amounts of content (hardly any, in Channel 4's case), and arrangements for revenue-sharing will be complicated
• Finally, there are branding issues as each partner seeks to maintain its own position in the traditional world of broadcast TV. And here, perhaps, lies the biggest question of all about Kangaroo. Are these players, necessarily so concerned about defending what's left of their "old media" legacy, really capable of leading the way in the new media marketplace?