Catch-up TV

Let the games begin. Following Sky's cluster bomb of last week (I can only imagine how long were the faces at BT Centre), BT has turned on the public relations taps to spout its views on next generation TV. Everthing is as we have long expected - Philips box with hard drive and DTT tuner, subscription-free on-demand programming, launch in H2 2006. All fine and totally acceptable, except that by H2 2006 SkyNet (not to be confused with Skynet) will be in over 350 exchanges in the UK, within striking distance of a quarter of all homes, with a lot more TV. Neither will NTL/Telewest roll over and die in the intervening year. Rather than too little, BT's offering looks like just about enough, but maybe too late.