Once enigmatically entitled “The Venice Project,” Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis’ Joost has begun stirring things up in the television industry, on the internet, and in the exciting, less chartered territory where the two inevitably–and sometimes uncomfortably–collide. Joost is the newest service from the innovators who brought the world KaZaA and Skype. As the recent deal with Viacom illustrates, Joost attempts to solve the conundrum of uniting television and the internet while benefiting consumers and content owners alike.
Two of the enticing aspects of Joost–particularly when compared with YouTube–relate to copyright and advertising revenue. These are the areas which make Joost most appealing to Big Media companies like Viacom, Inc. Unlike YouTube, Joost only allows copyright owners to add their content. Also distinct is the revenue sharing that Joost offers to partners like Viacom for ads played with their content.
It will be interesting to see what impact Joost has on the developing relationship between television and internet. Perhaps the television industry, more comfortable with Joost’s copyright protection and revenue sharing for their content, will be more willing to think outside the literal and proverbial box as they search for new ways to bring programming and advertisements to consumers.
