Canvas may consider one further partner before deadline

Project Canvas’s partners have said they will accept one further new partner during the pre-launch phase of the project, following Arqiva’s announcement.

Canvas, the over-the-top joint venture between the BBC, Channel 4 and Five, BT, TalkTalk and now Arqiva, has set April 23 as the last date for potential new entrants to express their interest in joining the consortium.

The partners said in a statement that they have held discussions with a range of interested parties, and would now consider one further partner joining in the pre-launch phase.

Transmission services group Arqiva, which operates the SeeSaw online video service, joined the Canvas group earlier this week. The existing partners formally invited expressions of internet from the market last December 16, when TalkTalk and Channel 4 announced that they would join.