The trio announced proposals today that to build a "standards based open environment for broadband connected digital television receivers". They invited other public service broadcasters (Channel 4 and Five), device firms and other ISPs to back the initiative.
The initiative, currently described only in the vaguest terms, will seek to extend the reach of the BBC iPlayer and the ITV player to mainstream living rooms.
Public broadcasters will be offered use of the iPlayer back end, the BBC said. It also seems likely the involvement of BT and other ISPs indicates plans for a shared content delivery network, to soften the impact on bandwidth charges.
No timescale was provided, but the announcement said plans for high definition on demand would be included. Like all new services, the BBC's involvment in the intiative is subject to approval by the BBC Trust. On demand via a new generation of Freeview boxes would carry no subscription fee.
BBC director-general Mark Thompson said: "We are building on a history of collaborating with and supporting the industry in research and development which includes NICAM stereo, Teletext and Freeview."
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