SeeSaw Plans ‘Free’ Launch Next Month With 3,000 Hours; New C4, C5, U.S. Content Deals

SeeSaw

Well, it still hasn’t revealed when it actually plans to launch service next month, but SeeSaw now says that it has some 3,000 hours of programming in place for its UK-only VOD operation, currently in beta.

The company also confirmed that it will start as an ad-supported free service but plans to introduce pay models. Ads are already being served in the beta, and ads at launch will be sold by broadcaster partners and by third partiesVideo Initiatives on behalf of SeeSaw, a spokesperson tells us.

Owned by Arqiva and built on the assets of the now-defunct Kangaroo project, the site just announced a raft of TV content deals: Broadcasters Channel 4 and Channel 5 will feed in content from their own catch-up/on-demand services, while independent UK producers Shed Media and talkbackTHAMES and U.S. producer RHI Entertainment will also contribute programs. Distributor Digital Rights Group and a sports content outfit, Perform, have also signed on. BBC Worldwide is already on board.

The deal will bring popular shows like The Apprentice (from talkbackTHAMES), Skins (from Channel 4) and the Aussie soaps Home and Away and Neighbours (from Channel 5) to the service. It will also have 50 made-for-TV movies from the U.S. and sports content developed around the World Cup in South Africa, which will be part of a dedicated sports channel on SeeSaw.

To be clear, none of the content will be exclusive to the VOD site. Much like U.S.-based Hulu, the idea is for the site to differentiate itself on its navigation and how it chooses to group programs for people to discover. An “editorial” team with “expertise in scheduling” will manage this. Some categories are already in place in the beta, as our review noted earlier this week.

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