BT Vision has said that community TV is 'on the agenda', and would consider adding user-generated channels to its platform once it reaches a critical mass of subscribers.
BT Vision has said that community TV is 'on the agenda', and would consider adding user-generated channels to its platform once it reaches a critical mass of subscribers.

Representatives from BT's IPTV service have paid two visits to Lommel in Belgium, where 200 residents have created a community channel using content they created themselves.

BT Vision technology director Richard Griffiths told Broadcast: 'Community TV is certainly on the agenda. Lommel TV is one of a number of experiments we are looking at.'

He added: 'First, we have to build a community. Until there's a critical mass of subscribers, it makes no sense to offer UGC. [But] community TV implies something engaging and relevant to individuals.'

Lommel TV is currently being trialled by French telco Alcatel-Lucent, whose MyOwn TV community TV system has been used to create the channel. The channel runs on Microsoft's MSTV software, also used by BT Vision.

All Lommel TV content is produced using off-the-shelf software such as Apple iMovie and uploaded using PCs after being approved by a group of community censors.

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