Joost selling itself to TV providers?
updated 09:55 am EDT, Fri April 24, 2009
Joost Selling Itself
Video site Joost is shopping itself around to cable and satellite TV providers as their possible hub for Internet streaming, sources claim. The company has been struggling to gain share in the face of competiton by Hulu and YouTube and is believed by CNET to be looking to a deal to save itself. While it's not certain how likely this may be, metered Internet advocate Time Warner Cable is unusually seen as one of those interested in buying Joost.
Neither company has agreed to comment on the authenticity of the report.
Founded by the creators of KaZaA and Skype, Joost was started 2 years ago as one of the earliest attempts at using peer-to-peer technology for a completely legal video streaming service. Rather than stream the video only by itself and require large servers, the company would use the bandwidth of those already viewing shows to distribute the costs. However, the feature required a proprietary app and saw relatively little uptake as viewers instead opted for web-based video.
Joost has since followed suit with a complete switch to a web-based service of its own and also has an iPhone app that provides much of its own content. With little influence in the field, though, the company has had few breakthroughs and saw Sony Pictures recently defect from Joost to YouTube.
