Our take...
Five is the last of the UK's major terrestrial broadcasters to offer an online catch-up service and in some respects it is the most advanced service available: video is higher quality than many comparable offers, provides a good range of key US shows, and the integration of rating and reviewing provides a level of interaction that other services lack. These evolutionary improvements are combined with a clean interface and the use of Flash for trailers and promos mean that Five has nearly stolen the iPlayer's crown as the benchmark for broadcaster catch-up services in the UK.

However, despite these advances, Screen Digest believes that, at least in the short term, Demand Five is unlikely to see the sort of uptake that the iPlayer has enjoyed. A number of the key reasons for this are a consequence of the rights demands from the producers of hit US shows:

• Many of Five's marquee US shows are only available as paid content. Ultimately this may be beneficial to both producers' and Five's bottom line, as paid-for downloads is a more profitable business model for the broadcaster than ad-supported streaming on a per transaction basis (making a profit on free to view TV streams has proven to be challenging as advertisers have been slow to adopt online video advertising). However, the UK download-to-own TV show market is highly competitive and almost exclusively device-driven, with Apple's iTunes Store enjoying a 90% market share. UK consumers have repeatedly shown themselves to be reluctant to pay for content to watch on their PC via broadcaster websites.
• The use of Windows Media 11 DRM on every programme, both streaming and download, and the requirement that users register before viewing, is also likely to further hinder uptake. Part of the success of the iPlayer is down to the instant access to content that it gives every user. While Demand Five might be instant for users who have undertaken a registration process and meet the Windows Media Player 11 requirement, this will prove to be a significant hindrance when compared to the low technological threshold of the BBC's iPlayer, which has been a major factor in its crossover into the mainstream.
• The use of DRM is predominantly driven by demands for security from major rights holders - a requirement that simple Flash streaming cannot offer as yet. It is likely that this was a precursor for signing up shows from US rights holders in particular. But Five has rolled it out on every programme, not just the US shows, with the result that usage is likely to suffer.

Screen Digest believes that these obstacles may be comparatively short lived as the Demand Five service evolves and matures. The BBC iPlayer has already secured agreements to stream shows for free, without intrusive DRM, including US shows such as 'Damages', and it is expected that subsequent iterations of Demand Five may follow suit, with a switch to more audience-friendly streaming formats.