ITN plugs in to web TV

The green, green grass

News outfit ITN has become one of the first broadcasters to sign up to a new broadband TV service.

The deal with GreenGrass.tv should make ITN news bulletins available to millions of net users - but only as long as they are happy to pay-to-view. At the moment, though, the amount of content available via the site is limited, although the company is looking to sign up more broadcasters.

Subscribers to the GreenGrass service buy credits, which can then be used to watch video content. As viewers watch, their credits are used up with the revenue shared between the broadcaster and GreenGrass.

GreenGrass claims the service is just right for broadcasters and rights holders who want an alternative to digital TV networks, since it lets them distribute and sell their programming direct to broadband users. It also means they don't have to set up standalone web services that can be costly to operate.

Said GreenGrass boss Alex Taylor said: "Imagine if every digital TV channel required a separate decoder and ran their own subscription service. That's where internet broadcasting is going right now, everyone packaging and charging for their content a different way."

GreenGrass is different, Taylor added, since it gives broadcasters the opportunity to distribute their content via a single site that "packages, monetises and markets their programming".

GreenGrass.tv - a privately-funded UK company - begins trialling its web-based TV distribution service today ahead of a full commercial launched earmarked for next year. ®