Free TV start-up irks broadcasters

A new internet start-up offering free television content has irked British broadcasters.

Zattoo, a Swiss- and US-backed television player, is circumventing Britain's copyright laws allowing it to offer free live television from all the UK’s terrestrial broadcasters.

Viewers who are signed up to Zattoo, which launched today in Britain, can watch programmes from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 or Five on their PCs.

Zattoo already has 2.15 million subscribers in continental Europe. It pays royalties to the broadcasters according to its subscriber numbers.

Chief executive and Zattoo co-founder Beat Knecht, maintains that Zattoo is "not in conflict" with broadcasters, saying: "We continue to believe in bilateral negotiations."

A loophole in the copyright law allows cable companies the right to show live TV from public-service broadcasts, without the consent of the broadcaster.

However, broadcasters are not happy about the launch. Channel 4 has said that it is looking in detail at the legal position.

Like the iPlayer the service requires a fast broadband connection but does not offer archived content.

What particularly bothers broadcasters is that Zattoo has stole the thunder on Project Kangaroo, a collaboration between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, to offer a catch-up service from this summer.

Zattoo was launched in 2005 and has over 190 channels available to watch from eight countries.

http://zattoo.com
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer