YouView partners aim to expand service

The partners behind UK connected TV service YouView – which include UK broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 – are reportedly looking to expand the service across more devices.

According to a Financial Times report, partnership renegotiation discussions have begun between YouView’s shareholders ahead of their current agreement’s expiration in March, with some pushing for the YouView platform to be extended to smart TVs, smartphones and tablets.

According to unnamed sources cited by the FT, shareholders are also looking to add more content to YouView to bolster its offering.

Currently the internet-enabled set-top box service offers catch-up content from each of its channel partners, as well as Sky’s Now TV OTT service, which lets users access Sky Movies on a pay-monthly basis or Sky Sports content on a pay-per-day basis.

Earlier this month UKTV-owned entertainment channel Dave also launched a seven-day catch-up service on YouView, with similar catch-up offerings from UKTV’s other channels – History, Yesterday and Really – to follow later this year.

YouView launched in 2012 after a string of delays. The set-top box service includes a backwards EPG, on-demand content and the ability to record, pause and rewind live TV.

YouView’s partners are the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, communications infrastructure firm Arqiva and UK telcos TalkTalk and BT. The latter two offer YouView boxes as part of their TV service offerings.

Last week TalkTalk announced that it added 160,000 new TV subscribers to its YouView service in the three months to the end of June, taking its total number of TV customers to 390,000.