Arqiva has officially launched a free public beta of its new broadband TV and video-on-demand website - SeeSaw UK. The setup is very similar to the BBC's web-based iPlayer TV catch-up service and initially includes around 3,000 hours of content from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five (Adobe Flash Player 10 is required for viewing content).

SeeSaw recommends that users be able to sustain a minimum broadband ISP speed of 1Mbps for content viewing. In addition the service funds itself by forcing you to watch an un-skippable 1 minute advertisement both before and during (halfway through) each show. Special premium (paid-for) content will also be added before the summer.


It's worth pointing out that you do not need a TV licence because the programmes on SeeSaw have already been broadcast on conventional TV. You only need one if you watch TV online at the same time that it's being broadcast on conventional TV in the UK.

SeeSaw is based off technology that was purchased from the defunct Project Kangaroo, which was originally a joint broadband Internet TV (IPTV) service between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. However Project Kangaroo ended up being scrapped after the Competition Commission (CC) ruled it to be anti-competitive.