The shift towards delivering TV over the internet took a dramatic step forward today after ITV announced plans for its first on-demand service and the BBC received approval for its long-awaited iPlayer.

ITV laid down the gauntlet to its competitor commercial channels, saying that a free 30 day 'catch-up' service which would enable viewers to watch programmes they had missed would go live 'within weeks'.

Channel 4 already has a 7-day catch-up service, but both it and Channel 5 charge between 99p and £1.99 for the most desirable programmes, such as US series.

ITV has pledged that its entire schedule, with the exception of Champions League games, which will cost 99p, will be available without charge.

In plans to be outlined tomorrow, ITV will also announce that itv.com will offer a streamed service, meaning that viewers will not have to wait for an episode to download before they can watch it.

A 30-minute programme can take as long again to download on Channel 4's 4oD service, although once a viewer has downloaded it they can watch it as many times as they like in a 48-hours period.

ITV's plans were made public on the same day that the BBC Trust gave approval to the BBC's new iPlayer service.

The decision means that from later this year programmes such as The Apprentice and Dr Who will be available for download free of charge for up to 7 days after their initial TV broadcast.

The episodes can then be stored for up to 30 days, at which point they are erased from the viewer's computer.

The decision applies to 'the majority' of the BBC's ongoing programming, including series such as EastEnders, as well as 15 per cent of 'one-off' series, a BBC spokesperson said.

Programmes to which the BBC did not have rights, such as sport and films, will not be included.

"The Trust is satisfied that the BBC's new on-demand services will create significant public value with limited market impact," Diane Coyle, one of the trustees, said.

The BBC Trust gave its approval following a 'Public Value Test' in which 10,500 individuals and organisations were consulted for their views.

Two aspects of the BBC's plans for the service - which received prelimianry Trust approval in January - were amended.

First, the proportion of 'one-off' series made available on the service would be capped at 15 per cent, following fears from retailers that DVD sales would be affected.

Second, the Trust reiterated its concern that the service, which will initially only work on Windows PCs, be made available to Apple users as soon as possible.

The management had said that a two-year deadline to make the service 'platform neutral' was unworkable because its success was ultimately dependent on third parties.

"In the interest of those members of the public who will be disadvantaged until this matter is resolved, the Trust will audit the BBC's progress against this objective every six months and publish its findings," the Trust said in a statement.

Classical music and audio book content would be excluded from the service, the Trust said, because such a service would have to too great an impact on the market.

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