[4] Though originally intending to compete against Freeview and Freesat, YouView as an independent retail product struggled to take off, with BT and TalkTalk becoming its main beneficiaries.

One of YouView's features is the electronic programming guide (EPG) that can scroll backwards up to 7 days and that integrates directly with the respective channel's catch-up service.

[34] On 17 May 2010 the then Project Canvas director Richard Halton said: "We have also put out an invitation for an eighth partner, and we would like a company that can add scale and expertise to the platform.

[37] Meek left YouView on 7 March 2011, and was replaced by Alan Sugar with immediate effect,[38] who was brought on board by Channel 5's Richard Desmond.

[44] The mock-up of how the Beijing Olympic Games would look on Canvas allowed users to watch highlights instantly, send clips to friends, monitor what's being said on Twitter, access archives at the touch of a button, and use commercial third party applications and services.

[45] As Canvas was to be an open platform, Stanley's report noted that content providers would no longer need to pay the current sum of around £10m for capacity on digital terrestrial television to reach their target audience.

In May 2010 the Financial Times reported that the name YouView was the most likely brand for the service, having been registered as intellectual property (IP) by the group of broadcasters in April.

[50] Robin Fry, an intellectual property partner at law firm Beachcroft LLP, said that the site's similarity to YouTube could cause consumers to confuse the two brands.

[59] A spokesman for Virgin Media said: "We are disappointed the BBC Trust has approved Canvas and ignored the significant concerns raised by the commercial sector about the proposal.

[62][63][64][65][66][67] It was reported BSkyB was likely to raise state aid complaints if it appears that the BBC is shouldering the costs of developing the venture for its partners.

[69] On 4 March 2010, The Daily Telegraph learned that Neil Berkett, Virgin Media's chief executive, would tell the Cable Congress in Brussels "the BBC Trust's consultation has been a shameless whitewash that contravenes almost every principle of good regulation.

"[70] Berkett objected to proposals to force all broadcasters to use a single 'Project Canvas' brand controlled by the BBC and its partners, which he claimed would have penalised commercial rivals.

On 14 June 2010, Neil Berkett revealed to The Guardian that "Far from trying to block the development of these open standards, we have offered to work commercially with Canvas to explore mutually beneficial ways in which we could incorporate them as a self-contained service in the next generation of Virgin Media set-top boxes.

[73] On 18 August 2010, IP Vision formally complained to Ofcom, calling on the regulator to examine the impact Project Canvas would have on innovation, competition and consumer choice.

On 30 August 2010, Six TV, the largest holder of analogue television restricted service licences in the UK (none of which are in use), announced that it would formally request a full Ofcom investigation of Canvas, warning that it could be a "poison pill" for regional broadcasters.

[75] Six TV will also submit its complaint regarding Canvas – which includes broader concerns regarding anti-competitive practices affecting digital television transmission in the UK – to the Office of Fair Trading.

On 24 September 2010, ISBA – the trade body representing advertisers, joined a growing list of parties asking Ofcom to investigate YouView.

On 28 September 2010, Electra Entertainment – a UK-based IPTV service provider, complained to media regulator Ofcom that YouView would "damage" the UK's interactive TV sector.

[81] Electra at the time developed an IPTV platform called Trove which brought media services to the TV screen through Tesco-branded Freeview set top boxes.

Electra believes that "the proposed vision, shareholder structure and aims of YouView are anti-competitive and significantly damage the UK interactive TV market".

[82] News of Sky's move prompted an angry reaction from the YouView chief executive, Richard Halton, "While we welcome justifiable scrutiny, the timing of this submission is clearly designed to extend the regulatory process in pursuit of commercial self-interest rather than the public interest".

[83] On 19 October 2010, Ofcom announced that it would not open an investigation into Project Canvas (YouView) under the Competition Act following complaints made by Virgin Media and IPVision.