
Joost which was started by the Skype and Kazaa founders, has entered into a deal with Viacom (VIA-B) to offer their content online for free.
Viacom announced that they will provide hundreds of hours of TV content, along with feature-length films, to Joust users. The deal will be a revenue-sharing model which provides the content for free to Joost users. The film will come from Paramount pictures and the TV programing from the BET and MTV Networks.
Joost delivers its videos via Internet peer-to-peer file sharing technology, and was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who have delivered disruptive technology to the marketplace before through Skype and Kazaa, putting fear in the communications and media industries.
Joost differentiates itself from YouTube (GOOG) in that it was built from the beginning to offer licensed professional content, while YouTube was built for users to share their home videos, although it has changed into being the largest online aggregator of movie clips and TV shows.
"The world is ready for us," Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, Joost's vice president of content strategy and acquisition said. "It's the perfect moment to launch a global online distribution platform."
She added that she doesn't consider YouTube a rival as they cater to short clips, that are no longer than 10 minutes, while Joost will offer full-length programing as an alternative to regular television.







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Tracked on: February 24, 2007 12:45 AM | Permalink to Trackback