TV-on-demand services are becoming increasingly popular these days – just look at the success of BBC iPlayer. Now another new service has just been launched which provides thousands of hours of content – all completely free.
Seesaw streams over 3,000 hours of content to users without them having to pay a fee. The content currently consists of programmes from Channel 4, Channel 5 and BBC Worldwide, although more content from other sources is expected to be added in the future.
The reason the service can be offered free is because users are forced to watch two one-minute advertisements whenever they watch a programme: one advert before it starts, and one halfway through. Viewers do not have the option of skipping the adverts, and it is this advertising revenue that pays for the content.
Despite the content currently being offered free of charge, it is likely that a pay service will be introduced later in the year with the addition of premium content. The controller of Seesaw, John Keeling, said that the service was just “the tip of the iceberg”.
Adobe Flash player is required to view the content, and users are also recommended to have a minimum connection speed of 1Mbps in order to view programmes properly. This could pose a problem for viewers in some parts of the country who are still unable to receive fast broadband speeds.
Seesaw is based on technology from Project Kangaroo, the TV-on-demand service that was eventually scrapped before it came to fruition. Many are seeing Seesaw as the reincarnation of this failed service.
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