Online television network Joost was successfully showcased by company executives at the annual MIPCOM audiovisual content trade show in Cannes over the weekend.The service, the first of its kind in the world, provides over 15,000 free and legal shows over the internet and comes with applications such as instant messaging and chat facilities.
It was officially launched in beta format earlier this month after being founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom last year, and will eventually display content created by its own users, as well as by traditional broadcasters, Mike Volpi of Joost told the Associated Press.
"The internet will start off showing traditional entertainment, but eventually users and content creators will use the capabilities of the internet to create some amazing entertainment," he commented.
Yvette Alberdingkthijm, head of content strategy and acquisition at Joost, also said at MIPCOM that the network intends to offer live television streams in addition to video on-demand in the future.
Some of Joost's most popular channels include Paramount Pictures UK, Alliance Atlantis Sci-Fi and the Onion News Network. Recently launched channels include Oasis, which screens interviews, videos and documentaries on the Manchester band, as well as Frag and Hollywood Music.
Its entry into the market comes slightly ahead of that of firms such as search engines MSN, Yahoo! and AOL and shortly after social networking site MySpace launched its MySpace TV service.
