16 January 2007

New Skype video start-up is named Joost

Those interested in the development of the internet as a digital media platform will already know that the brains behind Skype and Kazaa are in the process of launching a broadband TV service in 2007. Up to now, the project has been codenamed 'The Venice Project' but as of today, has acquired its new permanent name. Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom have decided to name their new start up Joost - a word that doesn't mean anything in either of the founders native Swedish or Danish. But according to them, it sounds nice, and that's what matters.

Unlike YouTube and other such competitors, the company plans to offer production facilities, cable stations and a reliable, high-speed network to distribute high quality video over the internet in a TV-like format, as opposed to simply offering a platform for home-brewed user uploads. Their distribution method will be built around a new peer-to-peer network, not dissimilar to the platform the founders used to create the once wildly successful Kazaa.

Critics might argue that this has been done before; but it's important to consider that Joost has not yet secured an exclusivity deal or partnership with any top TV or film producers. This may leave prospective users wondering whether they'll have to pay for internet video that they can get elsewhere for free - albeit not quite as legally. Without any deals or even a widespread audience, Joost will undoubtedly find it tough to convince executives that releasing their content to the service is a good idea.

Another problem is that two other competitors are currently trying to employ the same formula as Joost. Warner Bros., for instance, is buying a share in the little-known video company Guba, and BitTorrent - by now a word that many people consider to have the same meaning as digital piracy - is attempting to offer the same service.

However, it's not all doom and gloom. The software itself seems to be the pick of the heap, replicating the TV-viewing experience better than many others who have tried to wed the TV-internet before. Channel 4 have entered preliminary talks about supplying exclusive content to the service; and the founders themselves are now very well versed in the problems facing an internet start up, meaning that the entertainment industry may be willing to place a bet on such a proven track record. Only time will tell whether this new company has what it takes to topple established giants such as YouTube.

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