BBC to launch on-demand Web TV service

LONDON (Reuters) - The BBC said on Wednesday that it would launch its on-demand Web television service on July 27, adding that it was in talks with numerous distribution partners.

The service will allow broadband viewers up to 30 days to watch programmes they have downloaded for free within a week of transmission. The programmes, which will not have advertising, will automatically delete after being viewed.

The BBC said in a statement that the on-demand service would become more widely available across the www.bbc.co.uk Web site as well as Google's YouTube and mobile services.

The publicly-funded broadcaster said it was in talks with potential distribution partners such as MSN, Yahoo MySpace, Tiscali, and video search business Blinkx.

"Developing a version for Apple Macs and Microsoft Vista is absolutely on our critical path," said Ashley Highfield, director of the BBC's future media and technology division.

The BBC expected to launch an on-demand service on cable television with cable group Virgin Media later this year, he added.

The BBC said the web service was currently being tested by 15,000 people and would move to a live testing platform on July 27 before a full marketing launch later in the year.

Future services are expected to include streaming-on-demand so that users can watch a programme straight away and allowing users to download episodes from selected series retrospectively.

Rival broadcasters in the UK such as ITV, BSkyB and Virgin Media have already launched their own on-demand services. The BBC's service is funded by money raised from the television licence fee used to fund the broadcaster.