SeeSaw loses Channel 4 VOD in funding snag

The new owner of SeeSaw has reportedly lost a key content deal with Channel 4, meaning that shows such as The Inbetweeners and Peep Show are no longer available on the web-TV service.

A group of investors led by Bebo owner Criterion Capital Partners saved video on-demand service SeeSaw from closure in July after agreeing a deal to acquire 75% of the site from previous owner Arqiva.

However, Criterion needed to raise multi-million pound funding to revamp SeeSaw and establish its 28-strong team of employees in new headquarters.

According to The Guardian, the internal financial deadline has been extended in the past few days after the company struggled to lock down the funding round.

A key part of Criterion's strategy for pushing the struggling SeeSaw to profitability was by renegotiating its around 20 existing programme content deals.

However, it has so far been unsuccessful in renewing the deal with Channel 4, meaning that the broadcaster's content, such as The Inbetweeners, Skins and Grand Designs, is currently unavailable on the video on-demand site.

One source told the newspaper: "It has not been an easy transition, I think it's fair to say that."

A spokesman for SeeSaw declined to comment on the report.

Arqiva created SeeSaw after spending £8m to acquire the IPTV technology developed for Project Kangaroo - the BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4 joint venture that was blocked by the Competition Commission.

The transmission operator invested heavily in acquiring more than 3,000 hours of on-demand programming for SeeSaw, with the site attracting around 900,000 unique visitors a month.

Arqiva, which initially announced plans to close SeeSaw after failing in its 16-month search to find a buyer, will retain a 25% stake in the company under the new arrangement.