BSkyB has renewed its attacks on the nascent Project Canvas initiative, accusing the BBC of paying no more than "lip service" to the idea of allowing other broadcasters to join the initiative, and repeated calls for it to be blocked by the BBC Trust, according to reports in UK newspaper The Guardian.

According to the reports, BSkyB has delivered a new submission to the BBC Trust in which it argued: "Given its unique and privileged position in receipt of substantial and guaranteed public funding, the current proposals remain inconsistent with the BBC's obligations to adopt the least intrusive and most proportionate means of fulfilling its core public service purpose.  Sky does not believe that Canvas should be allowed to proceed, or at least, not with the BBC, and the licence fee, playing an active role.

"The proposals for membership of the joint venture remain exclusionary," it added.  "The new proposals pay lip service to the idea of an open joint venture and the governance changes will make little difference in practice to the current Canvas members' ability to pick and choose their partners in the future."

The BBC recently indicated that it welcomes non-public service broadcasters from joining the project, at a cost of GB£ 20mn (US$ 33.13mn) over Project Canvas's first four years from launch.  BSkyB added in its submission that it was "fanciful" to suggest there is a free-to-air motive at the heart of the project, given that BT is a founding partner, despite operating its own IPTV service 'BT Vision' and potentially planning to move over to the Canvas platform should the project reach fruition.

In response to these latest criticisms, The Guardian quotes a spokesman for Project Canvas as saying: "Sky's comments appear to pay scant attention to the actual substance of the proposals.  The partners have published a clear and robust set of principles for joining, including a high level of detail to improve transparency about the financial commitment required.  Proposals are subject to BBC Trust approval and we look forward to hearing their decision in due course."

The project's stated aim is to provide a platform for the delivery of broadcast channels (via DTT) and interactive/VOD services (via IP) through a retail set-top box.  Partners in the project - the BBC, ITV, Channel Five and BT - hope that if approval is granted by the BBC Trust, then Project Canvas devices could be in shops before Christmas 2010.