YouView CEO Richard Halton told the DTG (Digital TV) Summit last week that YouView will release the technical details of its API for equipment makers that only want to use a subset of YouView features.
He said, “The D Book needs to be very precise on the core specification and how people should build it. At YouView we have a particular view on how we should build on that standard. Other people may have a different view.” D Book is the UK technical specification for digital terrestrial television that is maintained by DTG, which is the industry association for digital television in the UK.
Halton said that publication of the specifications will make it possible for manufacturers to use them in markets outside the UK.
YouView, originally called Project Canvas, will be launched in 2012, Halton said, about two years later than originally projected. A working prototype is expected by the end of 2011. If it is delayed much longer, YouView hardware may not be needed because of the growing popularity of Internet-connected TVs and adapters like Apple TV, Google TV and D-Link’s Boxee Box.
The YouView consortium includes the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva. According to their contract, they can walk away if YouView is not launched by the end of 2011.
Lord Alan Sugar, the star of the BBC’s version of “The Apprentice” and the man who built Amstrad, is replacing Kip Meek, the current YouView chairman. He has reportedly been told to get the project finished on a timely basis and within budget.
YouView may become a victim of “too little, too late.” Competitors BSkyB and Virgin Media already have their own comparable services. Both argue that taxpayers’ money is being used to develop YouView, which will compete with their own catch up and OTT efforts.
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