We have reported before on the new breed to TV services spearheaded by Joost from that innovative team that first created Kazaa and Skype. Joost and a rival, Babelgum, a site backed by the Italian telecommunications magnate Silvio Scaglia are both currently under beta and the initial experience is amazing.
Both sites require a quick download to get started and a continuous Internet connection.
The main difference between these sites and YouTube is that the content is full-length and professionally edited. YouTube and MySpace only give you short videos with consumers on average only visiting YouTube for 11.5 minutes at a time.
Advertising rules. Joost requires you to register our age, gender and other details, and both Web sites say they will monitor your viewing patterns. Joost has already signed up more than 30 major advertisers and within a few minutes of logging on to Joost, ads will appear.
The service is multi dimensional and enables you to chat online as you watch TV – true multi tasking! Well maybe, if you are by yourself. It is very easy to see it taking off in the US where the TV is never off and the sound bite a way of life.
BT Vision this week starts to promote its new broadband services in the UK. They are backed by Microsoft and Phillips and are focused at pushing broadband boundaries TV, demand services and much more through their free set boxes and integration services.
We are certainly entering a new era of television and what will that mean to how we socialise, communicate, access on demand services? Ultimately will broadband provide all home services and wi-fi all mobile ones? What will that mean re the devices that will prevail?
We are not only witnessing the convergence of delivery technology but also of content itself and this presents one dimensional publishers with some interesting challenges!
