• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 16, 2007

The Venice Project, the codename for a new venture by the founders of Skype and Kazaa that has been promising to transform the way people watch TV over the Internet, has changed its name to Joost, and is going public on its plans and intentions.

"Joost is a new way to watch TV, free of the schedules and restrictions that come with traditional television," the start-up's founders write on a new Web site launched this morning. "Combining the best of TV with the best of the internet, Joost gives you more control and freedom than ever before - control over what you watch, and freedom to watch it whenever you like. We're providing a platform for the best television content on the planet - a platform that will bring you the biggest and best shows from the TV studios, as well as the specialist programs created by professionals and enthusiasts. It's all overlaid with a raft of nifty features that help you find the shows you love, watch and chat with friends, and even create your own TV channels."

To date, Joost's developers have been long on promises and short on details about how the system will actually work, when it will officially launch and who it's been working with, they have indicated that the plan is to work with major industry players in a way that protects TV copyrights, but enables consumers to have greater access and control in how they watch programming.

Observers have speculated that Joost would utilize a powerful peer-to-peer network that will enable users to personalize their TV viewing experience, a market that companies such as Sling Media also have been looking to develop.

Joost's main assets to date has been the reputation of its founders Niklas Zennstr"m and Janus Friis, who founded Skype and have a track record for raising venture capital and disintermediating industries.

Joost has been issuing beta accounts to users to help work out bugs and fine-tune the system before it roles out more broadly, but the new site promises it will uses new and established technologies to provide the best of both the internet and TV worlds.

"We're in the process of making it as TV-like as we can, with programs, channels and adverts. You can also see some things that we think will enhance the TV experience: searching for programs and channels, for example, as well as social features like chat. There are many more new features to come."