BBC Director Confirms UK YouView Broadband TV Service Delay

The BBC’s Director General, Mark Thompson, has confirmed that products based off the forthcoming YouView (IPTV) technology, which will be bundled by several ISPs and also offered separately as a subscription free broadband TV service, won’t be available before the end of July 2012 (Q3).

Thompson told a government Select Committee for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport(DCMS) that “IPTV turns out to be quite difficult to do” and they wanted “a completely stable product” to be ready before launch.

The news has been widely expected since April 2012 when one of YouView’s key partners, TalkTalk, stated that it would “launch YouView into UK homes in summer 2012” (here). That was a notable change in language from their previously vague references to the first half of calendar year 2012 and suggested a slip to at least Q3-2012 or possibly even Q4-2012.

The product, which is a Joint Venture project between the BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, TalkTalk, Arqiva and Channel 5 (Five), now runs the risk of being so late to market that it could end up proving unattractive. A modern wave of increasingly sophisticated TV’s, Smartphone’s and other devices now include similar IPTV features that could make the £100-£200 set-top-box a tough sell.

Meanwhile YouView and its partners recently opened up registration for 2,200 additional trialists to help test the service before launch. Sadly a strict NDA prevents them from talking about it, which is a shame since by now YouView’s partners should be promoting its merits from the highest rooftops.