UK firm IP Vision has confirmed that it is putting its hybrid DTT/IPTV solutions and premium VOD businesses and assets up for sale.

The company called in Peter Kubik and Michael Kiely as Joint Administrators with effect from 22 December 2011, and reports that advanced discussions are already underway with interested parties.

IP Vision operates the FetchTV video-on-demand service, delivered to dedicated set-top boxes and also offered as a white-label service, and reports that "it is expected" that FetchTV will continue to operate during the sales process.

The dedicated set-top boxes combine the FetchTV VOD service with linear DTT programming, BBC iPlayer content and the Sky Go service, and also include PVR and media centre capabilities.

IP Vision was formed in 2007, with major shareholders including Netgem, a French specialist in digital TV technology, and fund management company F&C Reit.

Our take: The UK market is becoming an increasingly tough market for retailers of IP-connected set-top boxes, as broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4 add their popular catch-up TV services to more and more devices, and pay VOD services likes LOVEFiLM, BlinkBox and Netflix notch up ever-increasing customer numbers.

IP Vision was also likely to be very concerned by the upcoming launch of the YouView platform, slated for the first half of this year, which is backed by the country's main broadcasters and ISPs and which involves the delivery of linear DTT channels along with online video and interactive features to dedicated set-top boxes.

Given these pressures, there appears to be little wriggle room for other players in the UK market - despite YouView not yet having launched (such is the clout of its backers). 2012 looks set to be a particularly tough year for businesses looking to compete directly with YouView or the pay VOD services mentioned above.