ITV unveils Internet TV

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's ITV unveiled plans for the 20 million pound ($40 million) re-launch of its ITV.com service, which will provide live programs, a 30-day catch-up service and access to its archive via the Internet.

The broadband offering, which was unveiled by ITV Executive Chairman Michael Grade on Tuesday, will launch "within weeks" and provide such archived content of shows such as "Rising Damp", "Upstairs, Downstairs" and "Morse".

It will also show user-generated news clips from viewers which could be used on the broadcaster's television bulletins.

"Today we are combining the best of TV with the best of the Web to create a service unrivalled by any other commercial broadcaster, anywhere in the world," Grade said.

The site will carry a range of exclusive content, such as interviews with the channel's leading actors, columns from sports figures such as Formula One driver David Coulthard and separate "made for broadband" content.

ITV has been accused in the past of being too slow to develop its online offering but Grade said the broadcaster had got its timing just right, as the use of broadband becomes more popular across the country.

The service will also help ITV reduce its reliance on its main ITV1 channel which has suffered in the last year from a falling audience and lower advertising revenue.

Grade told reporters that, if handled correctly, the broadband service could provide significant revenues in the next five years but he refused to give any specific guidance as to when the service would break even.

Channel 4 launched its on-demand service 4OD six months ago, offering programs for a small fee, while the BBC gave the green light on Monday for its iPlayer system which will show live programming over the Internet and a catch up service.

The ITV.com service will be supported by advertising with the majority of content free to watch.

Jupiter Research analyst Mark Mulligan said the outlook was positive for online television as it gave the industry "a real opportunity to build audiences online and engage with them in ways in which linear TV simply does not permit."