The global TV-Anytime Forum is an association of organizations which seeks to develop specifications to enable audio-visual and other services based on mass-market high volume digital storage in consumer platforms - simply referred to as local storage.

The TV-Anytime Forum was formed at an inaugural meeting held in Newport Beach, California, USA, on 27-29 September 1999. It has started work to develop open specifications designed to allow Consumer Electronics Manufacturers, Content Creators, Telcos, Broadcasters and Service Providers to exploit local storage.

As part of its formation, the TV-Anytime Forum has established four fundamental objectives for the organization, which are:

• The TV-Anytime Forum will define specifications that will enable applications to exploit local persistent storage in consumer electronics platforms.
• The TV-Anytime Forum is network independent with regard to the means for content delivery to consumer electronics equipment, including various delivery mechanisms (e.g. ATSC, DVB, DBS and others) and the Internet and enhanced TV.
• The TV-Anytime Forum will develop specifications for interoperable and integrated systems, from content creators/providers, through service providers, to the consumers.
• The TV-Anytime Forum will specify the necessary security structures to protect the interests of all parties involved.

Member organizations from Europe, the USA, and Asia, are drawn from a wide variety of industries: Traditional Broadcasters, Internet Broadcasters, Content Owners, Service Providers, Telcos, Consumer Electronics Manufacturers, IT Industries, Professional Equipment Manufacturers, Component Manufacturers and Software Vendors.

The TV-Anytime Forum invites participation from all interested organizations. Membership is open to all who sign the Membership Agreement and Contributor's Agreement, abide by the By-Laws, attend meeetings, and pay dues. Meetings are held approximately every two months in Europe, the USA, and Asia.

Currently, the TV-Anytime Forum consists of the following Working Groups:

• Business Models
• System, Transport Interfaces and Content Referencing
• Metadata
• Rights Management and Protection