SeeSaw launches beta trial today

Broadcast services company Arqiva has today launched an invitation-only beta trial of SeeSaw, its new broadband catch-up TV service.

SeeSaw has been developed from the parts of Project Kangaroo Arqiva acquired from broadcasters BBC, ITV and Channel 4 last July after the Competition Commission blocked it.

Arqiva is believed to have signed content deals with several providers and approximately 10,000 people will take part in the beta trial. “We’re starting small and letting people in gradually. That’s why SeeSaw Beta is currently invitation-only. We’d like to see what people think of our service then make it even better,” the company said in a statement on its website.

According to the Financial Times, SeeSaw is expected to offer 2,000 hours of TV content at launch from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five, while the Guardian reports that the service is also talks with the International Olympic Committee for a range of highlights from this summer’s games.

The service will offer free, ad-supported programming as well as paid premium content. John Keeling, platform controller at SeeSaw, told the Financial Times that channels offered in the beta service will include ‘Critically acclaimed drama’, featuring Red Riding and Bleak House, and ‘The best years of your life’, offering content for teens.