February 20th, 2007
YouTube jilted, Joost is Viacom's new BFF
Not two weeks after Viacom served YouTube with a major smackdown, Viacom has announced it is getting cozy with new Internet Television company Joost, and will provide free programming from MTV, BET, and Paramount Pictures.
It seems obvious that Viacom wanted more order to the chaos of YouTube as is apparent from the Press Release:
Janus Friis, founder of Joost said, “We built this platform from the ground up, with companies like Viacom in mind. Our platform provides scalable distribution, in a completely safe environment that protects the interest of content owners and advertisers, while delighting viewers. We’re extremely excited about this partnership and look forward to enabling Viacom to reach new audiences for its new and classic programming.”
It is intersting to watch this space heat up between companies like Apple, Netflix, Joost, Tivo, and YouTube. While I have my own predictions, I think we know that a lot of money is headed into this non-traditional marketplace in the next 12 months. What are your predictions? Whose going to come out on top? What is "television" going to look like in the next year?
