iBurbia quits MediaCityUK in platform access row

The company claims site operator Peel Media has failed to ensure access to key TV platforms, including Sky, Virgin Media, Freesat and YouView, which iBurbia needs to conduct consumer research. It adds that the exit will have cost the business “two years and £20,000”.

The departure comes as a blow to MediaCityUK, which has touted itself as offering a ‘future-proofed, 21st-century network’.

iBurbia managing director Nigel Walley, who operates an existing innovation lab in Chiswick, said: “If the BBC and ITV were being shoe-horned into existing buildings this would be difficult, but MediaCityUK is a brand new development. All VoD and functionality in the TV industry is moving towards set-top boxes at the moment, and apart from not having access to them, any small business needs a free market in telco services.”

Walley has also written to head of BBC North Peter Salmon accusing the broadcaster of not backing iBurbia. “We came to MediaCityUK 18 months ago to support the BBC’s vision of a new ecosystem of companies working together in Salford. We are leaving the campus having failed to get these basic media services installed in our office. I have to confess that we feel significantly let down by the BBC,” he said.

But the Peel Media-owned site, which operates a private network, said tenants were able to use a variety of networks. Ian Munford, commercial director of Dock10, a joint venture between Peel and SIS said: “We are in the process of implementing a solution for iBurbia and have requested a full set of requirements. As yet, these have not been forthcoming, so we are at a loss as to why a lack of communications has been cited. Dock10 always strives to exceed expectations and we very much welcome the opportunity of working with all new clients.”