Highfield to head up Kangaroo

The BBC's outspoken director of Future Media and Technology, Ashley Highfield, has been appointed chief executive of the Kangaroo project.

The Kangaroo project is a multi-company initiative involving the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 to create a new video-on-demand platform which is due to launch in the UK some time later this year.

As part of his role, Highfield will be negotiating contracts with content providers to shape Kangaroo's output.

Highfield said: "This is a fantastic opportunity. Kangaroo is a historic partnership with a combination of innovative technology and terrific content and I’m looking forward to transforming the way audiences watch television."

Highfield was a key player in the launch of the iPlayer, the BBC's own catch-up service.

Only last week Highfield provoked the ire of some ISPs, saying that the BBC shouldn't have to fork out any money to help ISPs deal with the costs of additional network traffic caused by the iPlayer service.

No firm information about a launch date for Kangaroo has yet been announced, partially because the project has still yet to be approved by the BBC Trust.

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust