SeeSaw (Internet television)
Encyclopedia
SeeSaw was an Internet television
service, born out of the BBC-led Project Kangaroo
and launched in the UK on 17 February 2010. It was acquired by the Criterion Media Group
in July 2011 but the agreed investment never materialised. The service was shut down on 28 October 2011. At its peak the site was able to attract 2 million users a month.
, the now defunct project owned by BBC Worldwide
, Channel 4
and ITV plc
. Project Kangaroo was blocked by the Competition Commission
in February 2009. In September 2009 Project Kangaroo's technology and assets were bought by Arqiva for approximately £8m. The SeeSaw brand was announced on 3 November 2009. ioko
developed the software and the user experience for the site, having already developed the software for Project Kangaroo. SeeSaw went into a closed beta on 26 January 2010 and was trialled by 20,000 people before being launched to the public on 17 February 2010. Streaming was done using Adobe Flash Player
at three video quality settings - low, medium and high at speeds of 500 kbit/s, 800 kbit/s and 1,500 kbit/s respectively.
In January 2010, SeeSaw made its first foray away from the computer by making its ad-supported content available through Boxee
. Senior Technical Architect, Ben Gidley, acknowledged looking into iOS solutions, although a lack of DRM
stalled development. Platforms supporting Adobe Flash were expected to work and Gidley was able to confirm Android compatibility on 15 June 2010.
, Lark Rise to Candleford
, That Mitchell and Webb Look
and classic Doctor Who
would be available for viewers at launch. On 29 January 2010, SeeSaw announced several deals. SeeSaw would carry programmes from Channel 4, including shows such as Peep Show
, The Inbetweeners
, Skins
and Grand Designs
and also from Five, including programmes such as The Gadget Show
, Neighbours
and Home and Away
. SeeSaw reached a separate agreement with UK independent distributor Digital Rights Group, which resulted in ITV1
dramas, such as Doc Martin
and Kingdom
being made available. SeeSaw also agreed separate deals with independent production firm Shed Media
(through its distribution arm Outright Distribution
) and Talkback Thames for a variety of programming including Footballers' Wives
, Bad Girls
, Waterloo Road
and The Apprentice. In addition, the firm agreed the "first of many" planned US content deals with RHI Entertainment
for 50 made-for-TV movies.
On 17 February 2010, SeeSaw was made public with over 3,000 hours of free content, supported by 60-second pre and mid-roll advertising. June 2010 saw the addition of a pay-per-programme feature, with a 48 hour viewing window. On 20 May 2010, SeeSaw launched its paid-for service offering 1,000 hours of premium content. The platform had already agreed a deal with MTV Networks
for Comedy Central
shows such as South Park
and MTV
properties such as The Hills
, My Super Sweet 16
and Laguna Beach
. A range of BBC Worldwide shows were also available to rent, including The Royle Family
, Gavin & Stacey
, Spooks
and Louis Theroux
documentaries. The firm said that "several" other agreements were in the pipeline with "major Hollywood studios" to offer around 2,000 hours of premium content in the coming months.
On 18 August 2010, SeeSaw agreed a content deal with NBC Universal Television Distribution
to make shows such as House
, 30 Rock
and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
available on its video on-demand website. The multi-year deal enabled SeeSaw users to rent individual episodes or full series of a range of US series, including The Office, Heroes
and Battlestar Galactica
.
As of October 2011, only archive shows from BBC Worldwide remained following SeeSaw's financial trouble.
was appointed as head of brand marketing. Fallon were announced as the creative advertising agency and Vizeum as the media agency, with a £5m budget allocated to promoting the site. On 3 March 2010, SeeSaw hired Neovia Financial to implement and manage a payment system for its premium content service.
Nick Thompson, the long-time Managing Director of broadcast & media at Arqiva left in April 2011 as part of a management reorganisation at Arqiva. His successor, Charles Constable, was not made responsible for SeeSaw as Arqiva sought an investment partner. Pierre-Jean Sebert, formerly MD of British Eurosport, was appointed as Managing Director of SeeSaw on 31 July 2009 but left the company in 2011 as part of financial restructuring at Arqiva. As part of the Criterion Media Group's investment in SeeSaw, Michael Jackson became chairman designate on 14 July 2011, however he walked away from the company in September 2011 as Criterion failed to raise funding. On 13 September 2011, platform controller John Keeling, commercial director Matt Rennie and product director Richard Dines resigned from SeeSaw.
However, on 27 May 2011, an announcement on the SeeSaw blog confirmed that "next month will be the end of the road for SeeSaw", with Arqiva directly announcing that SeeSaw would close on 20 June 2011, after failing to find an investment partner or buyer. However the site remained open, with Arqiva in talks to sell SeeSaw to US investment firm Criterion Capital Partners
, although only a limited selection of free content from BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and Channel 5 remained available. On 14 July 2011, it was announced that a consortium of investors, including Criterion Capital Partners, had purchased a 75% stake in SeeSaw for more than £10m. Arqiva retained a 25% stake, while Criterion Media Group, a division of Criterion Capital Partners, took majority ownership of SeeSaw. Criterion Capital Partners said the deal pulled together a number of investors: entertainment executives, new media entrepreneurs, institutional funds, and private equity partners.
As part of the deal, Criterion was required to raise a multimillion-pound round of funding to drive the rejuvenation of SeeSaw and set up its 28 staff in new headquarters by 31 August. Part of Criterion's plan to bring profitability was to renegotiate nearly 20 programme content deals. However SeeSaw failed to renegotiate its content deals with Channel 4 and Channel 5, losing two of its key partners. In September 2011 Criterion was understood to have run into problems with the lead backer in the investment consortium, Weston Capital. The delay meant that Arqiva was no longer contractually bound to run the venture, including providing ongoing funding. However the company and its remaining 15 members of staff were able to move out of Arqiva into a new office.
On 28 October 2011 SeeSaw was closed down after investors failed to provide the committed funding. Any users visiting the SeeSaw website are told "Thanks for your support but SeeSaw is no longer available."
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
service, born out of the BBC-led Project Kangaroo
Kangaroo (video on demand)
Kangaroo was the working title for a proposed video on demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide , ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD , initially expected to launch in 2008, but blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009. Following the Commission's rejection of the bid, the technology...
and launched in the UK on 17 February 2010. It was acquired by the Criterion Media Group
Criterion Capital Partners
Criterion Capital Partners LLC, also known as simply Criterion, is an American global Internet company. It is best known for been the owners of Bebo, a social network, after buying it from Internet giants AOL for a reported $10 million.-Bebo:...
in July 2011 but the agreed investment never materialised. The service was shut down on 28 October 2011. At its peak the site was able to attract 2 million users a month.
Development
SeeSaw used part of the technology that was originally built for Project KangarooKangaroo (video on demand)
Kangaroo was the working title for a proposed video on demand platform offering content from BBC Worldwide , ITV.com and Channel 4's 4oD , initially expected to launch in 2008, but blocked by the Competition Commission in 2009. Following the Commission's rejection of the bid, the technology...
, the now defunct project owned by BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
. Project Kangaroo was blocked by the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
in February 2009. In September 2009 Project Kangaroo's technology and assets were bought by Arqiva for approximately £8m. The SeeSaw brand was announced on 3 November 2009. ioko
Ioko
ioko is a systems integration and IT services company that designs, builds and runs digital media platforms for Media and Entertainment companies worldwide. It specialises in application development, media systems integration and dedicated managed services and mostly known for its involvement in...
developed the software and the user experience for the site, having already developed the software for Project Kangaroo. SeeSaw went into a closed beta on 26 January 2010 and was trialled by 20,000 people before being launched to the public on 17 February 2010. Streaming was done using Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Flash Player
The Adobe Flash Player is software for viewing multimedia, Rich Internet Applications and streaming video and audio, on a computer web browser or on supported mobile devices. Flash Player runs SWF files that can be created by the Adobe Flash authoring tool, by Adobe Flex or by a number of other...
at three video quality settings - low, medium and high at speeds of 500 kbit/s, 800 kbit/s and 1,500 kbit/s respectively.
Beyond the browser
At launch, SeeSaw CEO Pierre-Jean Sebert confirmed that the company is in talks with set-top box manufacturers, TV manufacturers and game console manufacturers with a view to extending its service to additional screens. Former parent company Arqiva is a member of YouView which is building an open, internet-connected television platform for the UK market.In January 2010, SeeSaw made its first foray away from the computer by making its ad-supported content available through Boxee
BOXEE
Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...
. Senior Technical Architect, Ben Gidley, acknowledged looking into iOS solutions, although a lack of DRM
Digital rights management
Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
stalled development. Platforms supporting Adobe Flash were expected to work and Gidley was able to confirm Android compatibility on 15 June 2010.
International licensing
On 2 August 2010, Pierre-Jean Sebert, said SeeSaw is in late-stage negotiations with media companies in two countries to licence its technology. "It started as an opportunity, but we have now equipped ourselves in a strategy to deal with international expansion, on a business to business basis through partnerships," Mr Sebert said. While Sebert revealed that one of the deals was in Europe and the other was in a country "very far away", it was understood that one of the deals could have involved taking the SeeSaw brand name as well.Content
On 2 December 2009, SeeSaw announced a content deal with BBC Worldwide, so shows such as CranfordCranford (TV series)
Cranford is a British television series directed by Simon Curtis and Steve Hudson. The teleplay by Heidi Thomas was adapted from three novellas by Elizabeth Gaskell published between 1849 and 1858: Cranford, My Lady Ludlow, and Mr Harrison's Confessions...
, Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series)
Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
, That Mitchell and Webb Look
That Mitchell and Webb Look
That Mitchell and Webb Look is a British television sketch show starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. Shown on BBC Two since 2006, its first two series were directed by David Kerr, who also directed Mitchell and Webb's previous television sketch show The Mitchell and Webb Situation, whereas...
and classic Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
would be available for viewers at launch. On 29 January 2010, SeeSaw announced several deals. SeeSaw would carry programmes from Channel 4, including shows such as Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
, The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners
The Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 to 2010 on E4. Created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will , and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The Inbetweeners Movie was...
, Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
and Grand Designs
Grand Designs
Grand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
and also from Five, including programmes such as The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show
The Gadget Show is a British television series focusing on technology and is broadcast on Channel 5. Originally a thirty minute show, it was extended to forty-five minutes, then later to fifty five minutes. Repeats have also aired on the digital channels 5*, Dave and Channel 5's Internet on-demand...
, Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and Home and Away
Home and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
. SeeSaw reached a separate agreement with UK independent distributor Digital Rights Group, which resulted in ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
dramas, such as Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
and Kingdom
Kingdom (TV series)
Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal...
being made available. SeeSaw also agreed separate deals with independent production firm Shed Media
Shed Media
Shed Media Group is a British creator and distributor of television content. The Group produces long-running television brands in drama, factual, documentary, factual entertainment, and history....
(through its distribution arm Outright Distribution
Outright Distribution
Outright Distribution is a global TV distribution company headquartered in London and part of the Shed Media Group.Outright specialises in format and finished programme distribution...
) and Talkback Thames for a variety of programming including Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...
, Bad Girls
Bad Girls (TV series)
Bad Girls is an award-winning British television drama series that was broadcast on ITV from 1999 to 2006. It is produced by Shed Productions, the company which later produced Footballers' Wives and Waterloo Road...
, Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
and The Apprentice. In addition, the firm agreed the "first of many" planned US content deals with RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment
RHI Entertainment , formerly known as Hallmark Entertainment, is an American producer of television movies and miniseries, founded in 1979 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Robert Halmi Sr. as Robert Halmi Incorporated....
for 50 made-for-TV movies.
On 17 February 2010, SeeSaw was made public with over 3,000 hours of free content, supported by 60-second pre and mid-roll advertising. June 2010 saw the addition of a pay-per-programme feature, with a 48 hour viewing window. On 20 May 2010, SeeSaw launched its paid-for service offering 1,000 hours of premium content. The platform had already agreed a deal with MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
for Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
shows such as South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
properties such as The Hills
The Hills
The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
, My Super Sweet 16
My Super Sweet 16
My Super Sweet 16 is an MTV reality series documenting the lives of teenagers, usually in the United States, Canada and UK, who usually have wealthy parents that throw huge coming of age celebrations. Parties include the quinceañera , the sweet 16, and other birthdays including a My Super Sweet 21 ...
and Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, often referred to simply as Laguna Beach, is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from September 28, 2004 until November 16, 2006. It documents the lives of several teenagers living in Laguna Beach, an affluent seaside community located in...
. A range of BBC Worldwide shows were also available to rent, including The Royle Family
The Royle Family
The Royle Family is a popular, BAFTA award-winning television comedy drama produced by Granada Television for the BBC, which ran for three series between 1998 and 2000, and specials from 2006 onwards...
, Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
, Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
and Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
documentaries. The firm said that "several" other agreements were in the pipeline with "major Hollywood studios" to offer around 2,000 hours of premium content in the coming months.
On 18 August 2010, SeeSaw agreed a content deal with NBC Universal Television Distribution
NBC Universal Television Distribution
NBCUniversal Television Distribution is the television distribution arm of the NBCUniversal Television Group in the United States, and is a subsidiary of General Electric...
to make shows such as House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, 30 Rock
30 Rock
30 Rock is an American television comedy series created by Tina Fey that airs on NBC. The series is loosely based on Fey's experiences as head writer for Saturday Night Live...
and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
available on its video on-demand website. The multi-year deal enabled SeeSaw users to rent individual episodes or full series of a range of US series, including The Office, Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
and Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
.
As of October 2011, only archive shows from BBC Worldwide remained following SeeSaw's financial trouble.
Key appointments
Maya Bhose from NBC UniversalNBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
was appointed as head of brand marketing. Fallon were announced as the creative advertising agency and Vizeum as the media agency, with a £5m budget allocated to promoting the site. On 3 March 2010, SeeSaw hired Neovia Financial to implement and manage a payment system for its premium content service.
Nick Thompson, the long-time Managing Director of broadcast & media at Arqiva left in April 2011 as part of a management reorganisation at Arqiva. His successor, Charles Constable, was not made responsible for SeeSaw as Arqiva sought an investment partner. Pierre-Jean Sebert, formerly MD of British Eurosport, was appointed as Managing Director of SeeSaw on 31 July 2009 but left the company in 2011 as part of financial restructuring at Arqiva. As part of the Criterion Media Group's investment in SeeSaw, Michael Jackson became chairman designate on 14 July 2011, however he walked away from the company in September 2011 as Criterion failed to raise funding. On 13 September 2011, platform controller John Keeling, commercial director Matt Rennie and product director Richard Dines resigned from SeeSaw.
Takeover
On 19 January 2011, Arqiva announced plans to find an investment partner for SeeSaw, with options for a sale of the online TV service believed to be under consideration. Arqiva completed a strategic review of SeeSaw in October 2010 and was seeking an investment partner to help with the "aim of accelerating the development of the service".However, on 27 May 2011, an announcement on the SeeSaw blog confirmed that "next month will be the end of the road for SeeSaw", with Arqiva directly announcing that SeeSaw would close on 20 June 2011, after failing to find an investment partner or buyer. However the site remained open, with Arqiva in talks to sell SeeSaw to US investment firm Criterion Capital Partners
Criterion Capital Partners
Criterion Capital Partners LLC, also known as simply Criterion, is an American global Internet company. It is best known for been the owners of Bebo, a social network, after buying it from Internet giants AOL for a reported $10 million.-Bebo:...
, although only a limited selection of free content from BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and Channel 5 remained available. On 14 July 2011, it was announced that a consortium of investors, including Criterion Capital Partners, had purchased a 75% stake in SeeSaw for more than £10m. Arqiva retained a 25% stake, while Criterion Media Group, a division of Criterion Capital Partners, took majority ownership of SeeSaw. Criterion Capital Partners said the deal pulled together a number of investors: entertainment executives, new media entrepreneurs, institutional funds, and private equity partners.
As part of the deal, Criterion was required to raise a multimillion-pound round of funding to drive the rejuvenation of SeeSaw and set up its 28 staff in new headquarters by 31 August. Part of Criterion's plan to bring profitability was to renegotiate nearly 20 programme content deals. However SeeSaw failed to renegotiate its content deals with Channel 4 and Channel 5, losing two of its key partners. In September 2011 Criterion was understood to have run into problems with the lead backer in the investment consortium, Weston Capital. The delay meant that Arqiva was no longer contractually bound to run the venture, including providing ongoing funding. However the company and its remaining 15 members of staff were able to move out of Arqiva into a new office.
On 28 October 2011 SeeSaw was closed down after investors failed to provide the committed funding. Any users visiting the SeeSaw website are told "Thanks for your support but SeeSaw is no longer available."