The company was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype. The goal was to give users a standalone application for viewing high quality videos over a peer to peer network, rather than spending all day squinting at YouTube style videos embedded in web pages. But while Joost has managed to sign a few major content partners like CBS and Viacom, you can generally find more up to date content from Hulu or the BBC iPlayer.
Joost is also hardly the only name in the game these days. The company faces competition (if you can call it that) from other online video services including Babelgum, Vuze, VeohTV, and Miro. But there's still one major question that needs to be answered: Does anybody actually use any of these services on a regular basis to watch videos, or are they the sort of programs you download once to check out and then maybe remember to launch every few weeks to see if there's anything new?
Do you actually care if Joost shuts down in the UK and other markets? Would it matter to you if they closed up shop in the US too? Let us know in the comments.
Update: It looks like a spokesperson for Joost denies that the company has any plans to layoff employees or go US-only.
[via Mashable]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-06-2008 @ 6:01PM
Dectus said...
I don't use it very often, but sometimes its not bad to see some of the videos in there...
But i'm sick of these shuting down non-US people, they did it with pandora, hulu is not awailable here and now Joost ? Come on, the world is not only in US !
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4-06-2008 @ 6:01PM
Dectus said...
I don't use it very often, but sometimes its not bad to see some of the videos in there...
But i'm sick of these shuting down non-US people, they did it with pandora, hulu is not awailable here and now Joost ? Come on, the world is not only in US !
Reply
4-06-2008 @ 6:02PM
PhyerFly said...
The issue with going global is most likely copyright and licensing problems. Because not every country has the same copyright laws, stuff that's made in the states is much easier to get license to show in the states (as opposed to other places). I think that by focusing on JUST the US they can increase the quality of the programming they can offer, which I think is the one thing thats keeping all of these internet TV services from making a big splash.
I currently use Joost (and live in the states) and have to say that in terms of programming it's my hand's down favorite. Miro and Veoh rely on internet based content like youtube, metacafe etc. for their videos so they just don't keep my attention like the stuff on Joost does. I often watch episodes of CSI, Numb3rs, Adult Swim, Anime and even music videos on there in my free time.
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4-06-2008 @ 7:37PM
Hany Hanna said...
As an American living in Korea I am disappointed by this decision. However, the best content is not available outside the US; I have to use a proxy to watch Twilight Zone, original Star Trek, and National Geographic. My son likes the Saturday Morning cartoons as well. Most of the remainder is total crap. If they concentrated more on worthwhile documentaries instead of the mindless banality already on regular TV, they would rock. They had the potential to distinguish themselves but decided to try and please the mindless masses. You CANNOT achieve global domination by being mediocre and average.
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4-07-2008 @ 7:44AM
Kyle Judkins said...
I have used Joost and have briefly looked at a few of the other options. I must say that Hulu is my favorite, because it has up to date content. However, I don't see any of these taking to place of my good old cable tv any time soon.
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4-07-2008 @ 7:45AM
Esko Mörkö said...
I live outside US and I really do watch Joost videos almost daily. Mostly music videos but recently I've found few very entertaining comedy channels. It would be a shame if Joost came US-only application.
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4-07-2008 @ 9:20AM
kodea said...
joost is irrelevant and crap
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4-07-2008 @ 9:35AM
john wilkes booth said...
honestly, i dled joost like everyone else to check it out. I got bored of it within a few minutes for the fact that i wasnt interesting in channels like "the vogue awards channel" or something. I thought the cartoons for the 60's and etc were a great addon but some stuff really takes cake like the "before they were stars channel", so i eventually uninstalled it.
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