Orange jumps out of Kangaroo deal

Despite engaging in talks with the catch up TV service Kangaroo, Orange has decided not to purchase the media player technology.

Kangaroo is owned by France Telecom and is an online on-demand media technology.

Kangaroo states that the project will not benefit either company and is not worth the £20 million it would cost to implement.

Orange publicly stated that even though it had been considering acquiring the Kangaroo platform, it decided against it as it was unable to see how both companies could benefit from the purchase.

Project Kangaroo is a joint group venture comprising BBC Worldwide, ITV, and Channel 4, which planned to create a platform that is combined for all three channels.

After the Competition Commission decided that the project would damage the video-on-demand market by allowing for a monopoly of the three ruling channels, Kangaroo has been trying to sell the technology.

Kangaroo attempted to market the technology as a way for Orange to develop French TV projects, but the leading IPTV company already has plenty of French customers and reckons that the price tag is too high for little potential growth.

However, Orange’s IPTV service in the UK has not yet hit the market, despite the fact that Orange states it is conducting market research to ensure the best entry point into the UK market.