It's no secret that cable service providers are anxious about the rapid growth of free video on the internet -- and rightly so. The same shows that run on the networks with multiple commercials on Friday night are available the next day on the internet with minimal interruptions.
Therefore, the rumor that the internet video content site Joost.com has attracted the attention of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) seems logical.
Joost, one of the early entries into the internet video scene, has lost ground to YouTube and the currently ascendant Hulu.com. This is in part due to its failure to nail down major content partners. Alexa ranks Joost in the mid- 4,000s among internet sites by page views, while Hulu, a joint venture of GE's NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) and News Corp (NYSE: NWS) with equity partners, is ranked 233rd. All those NBC and Fox shows make a big difference.
Joost claims that in March it had 15 million video views, and that 1.5 million people watch its content on iPhones and iPods. Nonetheless, its lack of highly-in-demand content should concern Time Warner Cable. Competitor Comcast Communications (NASDAQ: CMCSA) seems to be going in the direction of home-brewing its own online presence with Comcast Interactive Media, which will blend elements of online video with social networking a la Facebook.
If TWC does indeed snatch up Joost, it will not be the answer to its internet video competition, but it could be a small building block in that effort.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-28-2009 @ 2:56PM
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