Field Fisher Waterhouse advises group of major broadcasters and ISPs on revolutionary new IPTV platform - YouView
27 September 2010
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP has advised a group of broadcasters
and internet service providers on the ground-breaking You View
venture, formerly known as Project Canvas.
YouView has been described as a “game-changer for content
providers”, establishing a standards based, open internet-connected
TV environment which seamlessly integrates the broadcast and
on-demand worlds via the TV.
The high profile joint venture is widely acknowledged to be one
of the most important current developments in the broadcast
industry. The joint venture comprises the BBC, ITV, Channel 4,
BT, TalkTalk, Arqiva and Channel 5. Field Fisher Waterhouse
advised all of the participants for most of the duration of the
project, with Rosenblatt representing Channel 5 following its
acquisition by Northern & Shell.
The firm advised on the corporate and tax structuring of the
venture, taking instructions from senior in-house counsel at each
of the venture partners. Head of Corporate Andrew Blankfield and tax partner Derek Hill led on the deal assisted by senior
associate Carlton
Durrant.
Andrew
Blankfield said: “It has been a real privilege to advise on
this ground-breaking transaction. Our brief was an unusual
one: to assemble the views of the members, facilitate a debate,
suggest solutions and then document the conclusions. We are
naturally very proud that all these key industry players put their
confidence in us to play this role.”
Field Fisher Waterhouse has a strong reputation in the media
sector, with a long standing relationship with BBC as well as other
major clients including Viacom and NBC Universal.
For further press information, please
contact:
Louise Eckersley, PR Manager,
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP on +44 (0)20 7861 4120.