Venice Project Unveils Official Brand Name

NEW YORK/LONDON, January
16: The global broadband TV service from Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, the
founders of the online telephony service Skype, will roll out this year under
the brand name Joost.

The platform was
previously known as The Venice Project. It is currently being beta tested.
Joost promises to combine “the best of TV and the best of the Internet” with a
“TV-like experience enhanced with the choice, control and flexibility of Web
2.0.” Joost says it is powered by a “piracy-proof” Internet platform.

“People are looking for
increased choice and flexibility in their TV experience, while the
entertainment industry needs to retain control over their content,” said
Fredrik de Wahl, the CEO of Joost. “With Joost, we’ve married that consumer
desire with the industry’s interests.”

The global TV distribution
platform will bring together advertisers, content owners and viewers. It can be
accessed with a broadband Internet connection and offers broadcast quality
content to viewers for free.

“We’ve received positive
and constructive feedback from our early beta-testers and are now at a stage
where we’re ready to reveal our true brand,” said de Wahl. “The Joost name has
global appeal, embodies fun and energy, and will come to define the ‘best of TV
and the best of the Internet.’”