As if we needed any further proof that the online video market is white hot
right now, the founders of Skype have now set their sites on a Web TV service –
according to this
Yahoo News story. After creating the file-swapping service KaZaA and then
VoIP software Skype, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom plan to launch an
advertising-supported Internet television shortly. Said to be just a month or
two away, the service will enable “people with professional content”
to put it up on the Web for users to download for free. The code name for the
project is “Venice”.
In related news, Brightcove
is ramping up its long-awaited Web TV service. Today they launched
the Brightcove Network, which lets content owners release their own
“commercial Internet video channels” for free and generate revenue
through advertising and video download sales. To accompany this news, Brightcove
also launched today a new video advertising network, the ability to offer video
downloads for purchase or rental, plus a new-look portal for consumers.
Brightcove has also partnered with AOL to get a wider distribution.
As Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire said in the press release, this is “the
beginning of the Internet TV era”.
Techcrunch has
more on the Brightcove story. See also Read/WriteWeb’s
post last night about YouTube competitior Metacafe, which has just released
a revenue sharing program.