Sometime in the next couple of weeks, Joost, billed as the world’s first broadcast-quality Internet TV service, will launch worldwide. The Luxembourg-based company has been beta testing its service since January and has signed content and funding deals with media companies like Viacom, CBS and CHUM.
Why all this buzz about Joost?
Mainly because of who’s behind it. Founders Niklas Zennstr m and Janus Friis also created Skype, the peer-to-peer Internet telephony network. The feeling is they’ll probably be successful again, says TS Kelly, director of research and insight at Media Contacts in New York.
So what can I watch?
Unlike YouTube, there’s no user-generated fluff. Instead, “Joost is focusing on big branded TV content,” says Aleksandra Bosnjak, media analyst with Ovum consulting in London, England. Channels include National Geographic, MTV and Alliance Atlantis Sci-Fi, while Laguna Beach, CSI and Beavis and Butthead are some of the shows available on-demand. More important, interactive features let viewers chat with one another while they watch.
What about advertising?
Joost has the usual static and pre-roll spots, but advertisers like GM, Microsoft and Sony signed up to test more creative formats in conjunction with Interpublic Group’s L.A.-based Emerging Media Lab. They include overlay ads that viewers can click on to get more info-all without leaving the show they’re watching, says lab director Lori Schwartz. “You show a short little tease and you allow people to go deeper with some sort of trigger.”
Is this really going to change TV?
Probably, but not right away. Though Joost is promising full-screen viewing and “near DVD” quality, there are technical issues that still need to be fixed. Among them is the picture quality, says Bosnjak, which isn’t as good as Joost claims. Plus, territorial restrictions mean that viewers in some countries can’t watch all shows. For instance, Canadians can see Fight Network and the Hobby Channel, but not Comedy Central or VH1.
