CHUM TV Signs Deal With Web-TV Wunderkid Joost

Digital Journal — The Web-TV craze just picked up another wave of momentum: Canadian media megapower CHUM Television signed a deal today with Joost to supply TV programming to the new Internet software. Most of the shows will come from CHUM’s MuchMusic station, which includes live concert programs such as Live@Much, Intimate & Interactive and the MuchMusic Video Awards. Additional content will feature shows from the sci-fi channel Space, the fashion channel FashionTelevision and daytime lifestyle hub CityLine. “For artists and labels, Joost provides an opportunity for fans to interact with artists like never before,” said Yvette Alberdingkthijm, Executive Vice President of Content Strategy and Acquisition for Joost. “This kind of enhanced experience is the essence of Joost.” Garnering the kind of attention every Web 2.0 start-up desires, Joost is the latest project from Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the Scandinavian Internet pioneers who founded Kazaa and the Internet phone service Skype, which was later sold to eBay Inc. for $2.6 billion (US) in 2005. Available by invitation only, the beta version of Joost shows off some impressive tech muscle: watch international TV free by simply downloading the software, which is geekified by allowing the viewer to chat using Google Talk and displaying menus on screen. It’s like Apple TV, TiVO and Kazaa rolled into one service. The release date for the public version of Joost has yet to be announced. Joost’s model, based on peer-to-peer file-sharing rather than YouTube-style uploads, has already attracted two blockbuster deals before today: Viacom signed with Joost to supply movies from Paramount and TV shows from MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. And Toronto-based JumpTV will offer programming from some of the 270 stations in 70 countries the distributor owns rights to. Even before its launch, Joost has signed on with some big players to make it a Web 2.0 darling in the eyes of consumers and investors. “Joost is an on-demand experience, which will help us get a new audience abroad,” says Maria Hale, vice-president of business development for CHUM Television, in an interview with Digital Journal. “The model appeals to us, the lineage of the founders intrigued us, and the technology definitely impressed us.” Hale explains how TV remains a linear experience, and although sites like MuchMusic.com corrals viewers into an online community, the Joost deal will broaden the CHUM brand past the company’s current crop of sites. It’s a smart move. Already, Joost is enjoying a surge of popularity that is turning the company into a household word for free Web TV. Advertisers are perking their ears, too, because the audience can easily be measured and targeted. Joost hopes advertisers will get excited by the interactive technology. “There’s no reason why a real estate company couldn’t put an ad up linking to a video walk-through of properties in your neighbourhood,” David Clark, Joost’s advertising director, told Time. The stage is set for Joost to be the hot 2007 start-up. When more broadcasters ink deals with the company — there’s no doubt more will join — and when the public starts to download the software by the millions, Joost can take home a trophy it will definitely deserve: Best Service That Lived Up to the Hype.