Technicolor quits on YouView
May 13, 2011
Technicolor, one of the main suppliers named as a provider of STBs for YouView has pulled out of the supply deal. The French manufacturer, the world’s number three by units sold, was slated as a supplier of budget STBs.
Technicolor hasn’t said why it is dropping the deal, though producing at the cost required to maintain a margin with a budget price – particularly with processor prices rising – must be a factor. Cisco and Humax are still set to develop STBs but at a higher price point. Huawei, Pace, Manhattan and Vestel have all submitted ‘expressions of interest’ back in August 2010 but have not committed, which may well now leave the project with a shortage of suppliers.
YouView is a joint IPTV venture between some of the UK’s biggest TV and broadband companies, including BBC, ITV, BT, Channel 4, Talk Talk, Arqiva, and Five.