Canvas?

I am posting a story on this link even though it is two years old. It appears to answer a question that has been bothering me recently; namely what the purpose of Project Canvas might be?

It would seem that the rationale of the BBC in pursuing Canvas is the same as that for Freeview. The BBC wants to promote the adoption of a standard that does not support subscription. As the public buy more boxes that only support 'free to air' it becomes more difficult to switch the BBC to a subscription model. However it also becomes more difficult to introduce a new commercial subscription service. In this way a box which you are attracted to buy because it is 'free' actually ends up restricting your choice of content.

Oh yes, and the other question that I had about how the BBC spends the 12% of the Licence Fee that does not go on programme content. Part of the answer is that it likes developing standards for new media platforms. We intend to return to this point shortly in regard to the debacle over digital radio.