The BBC said it planned to share the iPlayer with other broadcasters and bring internet services to the television set through an open environment for internet-connected television.
But Channel 4's chief executive, Andy Duncan, said: ‘We don't believe these proposals offer any tangible financial benefit for Channel 4. Based on our considerable experience of selling advertising around on-demand viewing, we've given the BBC clear feedback that their assumptions about the commercial benefits of a link with the iPlayer are inaccurate.
‘We do not share their view that this particular proposal could deliver an immediate and sizeable financial upside.'
The BBC has teamed up with ITV and BT to develop a platform to bring on-demand TV to set-top boxes over broadband.
It would support a wide range of content providers and could be promoted by all Internet Service Providers, with the aim to involve a wider group of partners by launch.
This would mean a new generation of subscription-free devices, carrying free to air channels and a huge selection of on-demand TV services like iPlayer and ITV Player, as well as the potential for films, shows and interactive content from a range of other providers in standard and high definition.
Michael Grade, executive chairman, ITV, said the move would ‘future-proof our free-to-air platforms, Freeview and Freesat'.
The proposals also include a public service iPlayer, opening up access to regional audio visual content and broadcasting facilities, and a scheme with newspapers to share content.
BBC Worldwide is also working with Channel 4 on proposals to solve Channel 4's funding gap, with Ofcom considering a merger of their operations as part of its review of PSB broadcasting.
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