Cohen: Make catch-up TV pay-per-view

In its submission to the government's Digital Britain report, the global producer behind The Apprentice, The X Factor and American Idol said the advent of the broadband-on-TV platform Project Canvas was a good opportunity to revisit the role of pay-per-view.

“PPV is a nice add-on, but with initiatives like Canvas - which will revolutionise the way the mass audience use their TVs - on-demand programming will be just another option on the TV screen,” Cohen said.

“We must look afresh at the potential of micro-pay-per-view - say just 5p for catch up or even first runs. This would significantly cause the gap of lost ad revenues to dwindle.”

Speaking at the Media Guardian Changing Media Summit, Cohen said Fremantle's customer research had found 46% of people were willing to pay for such services through their TV, some of them as much as £2 per episode.

On-demand services such as BBC iPlayer, itv.com and Channel4.com all offer their content for free. However, at launch in 2006, C4's 4oD service initially charged 99p per episode for 30-day catch-up before dropping the fees.

Cohen said payments should be collected by a trusted billing agency and that this could be a role for Lord Carter's proposed digital rights agency.

Fremantle's submission also urges the government to work with internet service providers to curb online piracy. An estimated 7 million people have illegally downloaded content in the UK and worldwide, 95% of downloads are illegal.

The producer also makes the case for product placement in its response.

Without relaxing laws on alternative commercial streams, Cohen said: “Advertising that funds our shows will just slip away from the broadcasting world and into online search.”

Fremantle's research suggested that 88% of viewers of American Idol say it does not spoil their enjoyment of the show and 77% argue that it does not compromise its editorial integrity or quality. The show has featured product placement for seven years but is forced to blur brand names for its ITV2 broadcast in the UK.

“The audience is a lot more media-literate than the government gives it credit for,” Cohen said. “Consumers will let you know powerfully, simply and finally if they don't like it - they just stop watching.”

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