Consumers have yet to recognize the shotgun wedding between the Internet and television, but that hasn't stopped companies from rolling out devices and programs that will bring the two together. Last week, for instance, Netflix debuted its streaming video service, and the founders of Skype put a brand name on their new project, a peer-to-peer "piracy-proof" streaming video platform.
The platform, called Joost and expected to launch this year, will target the younger audience more likely to watch video online. It will offer shows from TV studios and specialty programs created for the Web by professionals and video enthusiasts. Joost will have online tools for users to chat with friends while watching shows and create their own TV channels.
Netflix, which has made streamed films and TV shows available to a random subset of its customers, will extend the service over the next six months to all its subscribers. It joins Apple, Amazon.com , CinemaNow, Movielink, and Wal-Mart, which already are offering films and TV shows online. "It's going to be a big business, but it's still going to be very small in comparison to the DVD business and … the worldwide theatrical distribution business," says Cynthia Brumfield, president of media research consulting firm Emerging Media Dynamics.
Netflix, Skype Founders Dream Big For Online Video - Internet News by InformationWeek
