Disruption in IPTV, and other stories – January 16, 2007

Disruption strikes again. Those clever Scandinavian boys who founded Kazaa and Skype are at it again. Their new venture is called Joost, a free global TV distribution platform. Based on peer-to-peer technology, Joost will be supported by advertising and aims to improve the experience of watching TV on a computer. It’s an increasingly crowded market, but as James Enck of telecom analyst Daiwa Securities sees it, “with Zennstrom and Friis behind it, it has to be seen as a serious player.”

Take that, Blockbuster. Talking of that crowded market, Netflix has wisely added an online “watch now” feature to its DVD rental service. The service is currently being trialled with a small section of customers, and only allows for computer-based viewing. Oh and of course – like most of the other IPTV and movie download services – it’s only for PCs. Call me traditional, but I like watching TV on a TV – shame that the new Apple TV device only works with iTunes…

Branding so good, it makes you weep. Amusing piece on Wired.com entitled “Why Apple makes me cry.” Having witnessed the euphoria and adolation that takes place when Steve Jobs talks at Macworld, I can confirm that Momus is not alone. That’s the power of branding, innit?

Technorati Tags: Joost, Netflix, Apple, Blosckbuster, IPTV