Struggling online video startup Joost, begun with much fanfare in 2007 by the same people behind Skype and Kazaa, is restructuring its business after discovering that it can’t survive on advertising to fund its operations.
The chief executive, Mike Volpi, has stepped down but will remain as chairman.
The London-based company said it will shift its focus from being an online video site for consumers supported by advertising — similar to Google Inc.’s YouTube. Instead, it will help businesses manage their videos on the Internet as they build brands.
Its target market will be media companies such as cable and satellite TV providers, broadcasters and video aggregators.
“In these tough economic times, it’s been increasingly challenging to operate as an independent, ad-supported online video platform,” Volpi said in a statement.
Joost was co-founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the same people behind Internet phone service Skype and the file-sharing site Kazaa. It has minority investments from Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp.
It started as a peer-to-peer sharing site but wasn’t successful, then switched to online video. But Joost has suffered from poor traffic and had trouble making money.
Joost, which also has offices in New York, is closing its Leiden office in the Netherlands. The company declined to say how many people it’s laying off.
Volpi will be replaced by Matt Zelesko, who’s currently senior vice president of engineering. Zelesko will continue to head the engineering division.
Stacey Seltzer, senior vice president of international business development and content acquisition, will run the business operations.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More