Several years ago, when online video was beginning to really catch on, a startup named Joost was among the hottest new sites. On Tuesday, however, Joost announced it will reorganize and restructure its business, wind down some operations, and focus on providing white label online video platforms to media companies.
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The New York City-based company also announced that its CEO, Mike Volpi, will be replaced by Matt Zelesko, the senior vice president of engineering, and it indicated that most of its staff will be laid off. Volpi will keep his position as board chairman and Senior Vice President Stacey Seltzer will take over business operations.
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‘Increasingly Challenging’
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Joost indicated that its video portal will remain open even as it downsizes, but its energies will shift toward the platform business and its development facility in the Netherlands will close.
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Volpi told news media that it’s been increasingly challenging to operate as an independent, ad-supported online video platform.
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When it started in 2006, Joost quickly became known for the quality of its videos, its ambition, and particularly for its parentage. The heavily funded company was founded by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, who also started Skype and Kazaa. It was the first independent site to license content from big media companies like CBS and Viacom, who were also investors.
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Some observers have noted that Joost ran into very heavy competition from the likes of YouTube, Hulu and others. Ironically, Joost was first seen by many in the industry as the antithesis of YouTube, since Joost licensed its video while YouTube originally allowed anyone to post virtually anything. Hulu’s owners, by contrast, include NBC Universal, News Corp., and Disney.
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In early June, Joost announced it would be adding new content partners, including Marvel Entertainment. In January, it said more than one million iPhone and iPod touch users had downloaded its…