YouView shareholders commit with £100m funding

All seven of YouView’s shareholders have agreed to back the UK smart TV platform for at least five more years, with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk and Arqiva remaining equal shareholders.

YouView has also announced that it has passed well over one million connected UK homes in the 18 months since its marketing launch.

The outfit said that over three million video-on-demand plays were being requested each week, with over half of YouView’s customers watching four half-hour VoD programmes each week.

YouView did not reveal the financial commitments made by its shareholders, though it is believed to be around £100 million (US$155 million). Reports earlier this week suggested that the broadcasters shareholders were seeking to reduce their funding of the platform by up to 85%, with BT and TalkTalk, which have arguably benefited far more from the platform, taking up the slack.

“We are delighted that all seven shareholders have committed to the future of YouView with a five year term. We have achieved a significant milestone with well over 1 million homes regularly using the service and high levels of usage and satisfaction as key indicators of success for the future,” said Richard Halton, YouView’s CEO.

“The next phase for YouView involves ambitious developments across a range of devices and we’re looking forward to achieving our long term target of 10 million connected UK homes.”

News of the new agreement leaked earlier this week.