Criterion Media Group, a division of Criterion Capital that owns social network Bebo, has taken a majority stake in SeeSaw.

The platform launched in February 2010 after Arqiva acquired the assets from Project Kangaroo, a joint venture set up by BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4.

Media and communications company Arqiva will retain a 25 per cent stake in SeeSaw and a seat on the new executive board under the terms of the agreement.

The new owners plan to continue primary operations in London.

TV and entertainment industry veteran Michael Jackson will assume the role of chairman effective immediately. He previously held the position of controller at BBC One and BBC Two, and is former chief executive of Channel 4.

‘The TV industries in the UK and abroad will continue to be reshaped in ways no one can quite predict. However, it is clear that web-delivered programming will play a vital role in that transformation,’ Jackson says.

Dan Adler, who served as vice president for Walt Disney Imagineering, has joined the ownership consortium as an investor and strategic advisor.

SeeSaw delivers over 3,000 hours of television programmes from independent production houses, and UK and international broadcasters. The site receives more than 900,000 monthly worldwide visitors.

Criterion Capital, based in the US, is a merchant bank that invests capital and resources into businesses from a range of sectors, including social media, technology, restaurants and consumer products.