Joost,
the on-demand video service, has raised $45 million from five investors that include
CBS and Viacom, who are also content providers for the service. The other investors
are Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing.
Joost was started
by the founders of Skype Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstroem, who set up Joost in
January 2006 to offer broadband users full-screen, high-quality video on their
computers. The two were also behind the music site Kazaa, which enabled free music
downloads. Index
Ventures is a European venture capital firm, while Sequoia Capital is described
as having been the first investor and business partner of companies making up
10 per cent of the value of the Nasdaq hi-tech index. Joost,
Joost has 150 channels of online content, has signed deals with
content providers such as Viacom, which is providing content from MTV, Nickelodeon,
Paramount and Comedy Central. Broadband
has boosted online video viewing.
|