A new Irish digital site that aims to meet all of consumers’ online media needs is planning to invest €5m and create 80 new jobs in the new year to compete with iTunes and Netflix.
Digital Jet’s product is a location-based entertainment network called DJ Media Stream that allows users to stream and download media, ranging from music, movies and books, to games and news apps to any connected device.
Digital Jet is set to launch in early 2012.
“We know there is a market and it is accelerating year on year driven by the growth of the internet and mobile,” said company head Niall O’Neill. “Netflix generated US$2.1bn revenue in the US and Canada alone in 2010 and yet control less than 1pc of the market value globally!”
O’Neill added that his team plans to launch Digital Jet in February or March to a closed group of users.
“There will be a phased deployment focused on three primary products – online, mobile and a third which I won’t mention but is our ‘secret sauce,’” O’Neill said.
“Our plan is to be a valued player in the infrastructure of entertainment. We’re looking to deliver a system that is customisable to the end user that allows them to enjoy a ‘media buffet’ that is always with them, using all the media at their disposal, including smart TV, mobile, web and letting the end user decide how much content they can consume and how much.”
Labels and publishers are welcoming DJ Media Stream, said O’Neill, because it tackles content piracy and provides the labels and publishers with a reach that extends beyonds that of Netflix, iTunes and Amazon.
“We have the team, the technology and the strategy to compete,” O’Neill said.
