Joost si rinnova e segue il trend di Hulu

Joost  era nel 2006 il massimo della tecnologia nel settore della TV via Internet, la sua fase sperimentale è durata fino agli inizi del 2007, abbiamo assistito successivamente ad una Private Beta ed infine al rilascio ufficiale. L’uscita dalla Beta di Joost è stata tardiva, tra il 2006 ed il 2007 i portali di VideoSharing hanno raggiunto l’apice del successo assieme Hulu , quest’ultimo ha attratto la quasi totalità dei publishers ed il progetto dei fondatori di Skype si è trovato in alto mare .. Mai dire mai, Hulu sta cercando di rinnovarsi ed il suo CEO CEO Mike Volpi ha confidato in un intervista con Silicon Alley che mancano solo un paio di settimane al rilascio ufficiale della versione Web Based di Joost, potremo utilizzarlo aprendo un Browser come Firefox o Internet Explorer.

Joost dava l’impressione d’essere nel 2006 l’unico antagonista a YouTube, si trattava dell’unico prodotto che dava la certezza ai detentori di copyright che le loro trasmissioni fossero trasmesse “rispettando le regole”, YouTube era invece agl inizi e non si pensava ancora minimamente a metodi per dissuadere gli utenti dall’upload di materiale coperto da copyright. La qualità di Joost comparata ai video di YouTube era un ulteriore punto a favore del progetto dei creatori di Skype, la visione sul monitor dei PC ricordava la qualità di un normale TV. Già quella volta gli antagonisti a Joost erano Web Based e questo trend è aumentato a dismisura con il dilagare del fenomeno del videosharing ma anche dopo l’entrata in scena di Hulu.

Joost in versione Web Based significa un nuovo slancio ma anche un totale cambio di rotta nelle strategie commerciali dell’azienda, il CEO Volpi rassicura gli utenti che Joost ha ancora le carte in regole ed un sufficiente budget per poter fornire dei contenuti di alta qualità, autofinanziarsi e creare fidelizzazione. Volpi confida nella breve Intervista con Silicon Alley che il cambio di rotta di Joost significherà maggior esposizione attraendo numerosi utenti e rendendo la loro piattaforma una miglior destinazione per i publishers. Il CEO di Joost confida che il cambio di rotta non significa automaticamente il “salvataggio” di Joost, attrarre i Big Publishers è sinonimo di introiti ma bisogna pensare anche ai contenuti “indie”, ciò per cui sono ancora avanti a Hulu..

Silicon Alley Insider: What mistakes did Joost make the first time around and what are you doing to fix them?

Mike Volpi: We introduced what was the 2006 vision of the best product out there. The product came to market and I think we learned a lot of things from it. We’re the first to say it didn’t exactly hit the sweet spot. We have a great brand and great content that we still have access to today. But we had a product that wasn’t quite right.

SAI: When you started out, you had by far the most content of any legal aggregator on the Web. Now content is everywhere, so where does that leave Joost?

Volpi: The world has migrated from an exclusive model of content distribution to a non-exclusive model. Our view is that content is available in a lot of places, but by packaging it and merchandizing it better, hopefully we will be a better place to come to. As people come to us, the content owners will say “I’m not going to upload this to 25 places” — they won’t be bothered — “I’m just going to upload it two or three places.” That will give us an advantage — not because we have contractual exclusivity, but because it’s a place people like to go to.

SAI: How will Joost be different from a Hulu, Veoh or AOL TV?

Volpi: We are designing a platform that is hopefully well-suited to large content owners, but also one that will serve the purposes of the midtail–the indie content, music videos, comedy channels, and so on. There are users out there that don’t know what they are going to watch today, or they want to browse in a genre. We will help them find what they’re looking for. We host a lot more indie content than Hulu — and we are doing a lot more work to distribute and sell advertising on that content.

SAI: Do you need to do more content deals to be successful?

Volpi: Today we have 7,500 hours–one of the largest portfolios out there. We’d love to have more, but our success or failure will not be dictated by signing another deal.

SAI: You raised $45 million in 2006 and sources tell us you’ve been in talks to raise another round of financing. Is that true?

Volpi: No. We have ample cash to get the platform out, work out the kinks and accumulate users. If all goes well hopefully we won’t have to raise any more money. A lot of it depends on how quickly we grow. Rapid international expansion would require more capital. The pace of rollout of territories will determine if and how much more funding we might need.

SAI: What kind of ad rates will you need to charge in order to make your service profitable?

Volpi: I am convinced with our business model that TV-level CPMs will work just fine. Online CPMs are higher now, but they will fall back to TV levels. When you operate peer-to-peer, you save on three things: bandwidth, storage, and CPU capacity. It is harder if you look at the “buy-your-own bandwidth, buy-your own-servers” model, which we’re not doing. We have cost advantages, which is particularly important in a non-exclusive market. The margins are going to be thin in this industry for an aggregator like us. The first job is to get users but long-term we have to make money. Having a low-cost delivery system is the survival strategy for a content aggregator.

SAI: The last time you launched, it was a big media event. Any plans for a splashy relaunch?

Volpi: It was a different situation, because we had two founders who were so well-known. We were very fortunate that we got the enormous coverage and frankly we still have a wonderful brand because of it. But the expectations pinned on us were so high. It was a difficult situation to manage. Organizing a big party might get us a few headlines, but trust us, we’ve been through the PR cycle before. We want the product speak for itself and then let the users speak for us.