British Sky Broadcasting has accused the BBC of “riding a coach and horses” through the nascent market for internet TV by investing licence-fee payers’ money in Project Canvas, a planned successor to Freeview.

Canvas is a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, BT and Five that aims to bring internet TV services such as the iPlayer to the TV set. It plans to launch the digital set-top boxes before Christmas 2010, priced between £100 and £200.