Find Any Film and Sky join YouView debate

In the face of complaints that its service could stifle innovation and competition, YouView has found an ally in on-demand movies search website Find any Film.

Martin Talks, the director of Find Any Film is urging Ofcom to consider the commercial benefits that YouView will bring to the market, before deciding whether it should be investigated by the Competition Commission.

From Find Any Film’s point of view, YouView will give it a mainstream TV presence, providing a platform that was previously inaccessible to the site.

When YouView becomes available on the Freeview platform next year, viewers will be able to watch, buy, download and rent movies and videos from the Internet on their living room television, which is good news for viewers but has others in the industry running scared.

Ofcom was expected to reveal today whether it will refer YouView to the Competition Commission, but a last minute complaint from Sky has delayed the process.

Sky’s complaint that YouView could stifle competition in the on-demand market follows similar complaints from Virgin Media, the Open Source Consortium, and local TV operators and more.

Ofcom will now have to consider Sky’s complaint fully before any decision can be made.