Joost IPTV Beta Reaches 1m Users | Full Launch Planned For Later On This Year:Niklas Zennström, the co-founder of Skype and Kazaa, claimed today that Joost, the IPTV start-up hatched by himself and Janus Friis, has lured over 1 million users since its beta launch in 2006.
This ties in with the lesser-known MyWaves, a cellular video service, which has just announced it has reached 1 million subscribers in a similar time period. Maybe the two companies should hold a joint party and invite me.
The figure was revealed by Zennström at a recent Skype press conference in Tallinn, Estonia, and is the first time that audience figures for the business, formerly codenamed ‘The Venice Project’, have been divulged.
Joost’s aim is to provide a free YouTube-esque video sharing experience to its users, but with fully authorised content, backing from advertisers and delivery via a P2P model, the latter of has been a central part in both of the entrepreneurs’ previous web-based ventures.
Full Launch On The Horizon
Without specifying an exact date, Zennström stated that Joost would be fully launched later on this year, supported by media giants including CBS, CNN, Sony and Viacom, as well as ‘30 Tier 1 advertisers.’
‘Ease of use is such an important thing for us,’ Zennström added, in regard to the issue of ensuring speedy delivery of content to an ever-growing user base.
Overcoming the problem of smooth data management will be key in Joost’s attempts to compete with its rivals in the sector such as Bablegum and Microsoft LiveStation. Still, a million in a year of beta testing is nothing to scoff at, and bodes pretty well for the future if you ask me.
Before you start begging me for a beta invite read this.
(Read Original Article - Via Web TV Wire.)