Project Canvas named 'YouView'

Project Canvas, the free on-demand TV service backed by the BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, TalkTalk, Arqiva and Five, will be called YouView, it was announced this morning.

YouView: the new name for Project Canvas
YouView: the new name for Project Canvas

At a press conference earlier today, Richard Halton was confirmed as the new chief executive of the company, now incorporated as YouView Ltd, working alongside chairman Kip Meek.

The company said YouView is expected to launch in the first half of next year, providing viewers with the option to choose "a subscription-free YouView set top box that will combine their favourite digital TV channels with the last seven days' catch up TV, as well as bringing a full range of on-demand services and interactive extras straight to the living room".

YouView's features, revealed this morning, will include a programme guide that goes backwards as well as forwards, providing seven-day catch-up services from broadcasters including initial backers BBC,  ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

Personal video recorders will be included as part of the set top box, allowing viewers to pause and record live TV, which will be available for a one-off fee with no ongoing contract. A broadband connection will be needed to use the full range of services YouView will offer.

YouView said it also had plans for an app store as part of the offer giving viewers "new types of services and levels of interactivity with their favourite programmes".

An interview with Richard Halton follows

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