Joost, the internet television-on-demand service from the founders of Skype, is today announcing the appointment of Michelangelo Volpi, former executive for global networking firm Cisco, as its new CEO.
Joost, although still in the final stages of testing, has already received US$45m in venture capital from US media giants Time Warner and Viacom.
Viacom, which has sued video sharing site YouTube for US$1.1m, was also one of several media companies that signed a distribution deal with Joost.
Volpi had previously been involved with the Joost founders, having been on the Skype board in late 2004, leaving after the company was bought by eBay in 2005 for US$2.6mn.
Joost doesn’t only provide programming from mainstream companies like CBS and Warner Brothers television but also has niche offerings in the form of the Brazilian Music Channel and the National Hockey League among others.
The fledgling internet TV company has not been without its teething problems, however. It has been in the process of upgrading and fixing its server systems in the past month while beta testing before the service can fully go public.
By Marie Boran
