nextMEDIA gets Joost with Seltzer

If the caliber of companies that have signed on to provide content or advertise on Joost.com is any indication, then the details of this outfit’s business model will be eagerly digested by media execs trekking to the Rockies this June.

Stacey Seltzer, SVP of content strategy for the Internet TV service, will be in Banff on June 10 at 10 a.m. to present an ‘executive download’ session at digital content confab nextMEDIA 2007. He will provide an in-depth look at the vision and business models that have allowed Joost to secure extensive financial backing, ample online content rights, and a slew of advertising partners. 

Joost – founded in January 2006 by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, and with offices in the Netherlands, New York, London and Luxembourg – looks like it could actually make good on the oft-made promise to deliver broadcast-quality TV over the Internet. It provides TV content on more than 150 online channels with secure copyright protection for content owners and creators, as well as a working advertising model that allows content to be delivered free to viewers.

In April, Joost announced that it had secured 32 advertising partners for its May 1 commercial launch. International partners include Coca-Cola, HP, Intel and Nike, and numerous other sponsors from the U.S. and Europe.

Earlier this month, Joost secured $45 million in investment financing from companies including Index Ventures, Sequoia Capital and the Li Ka Shing Foundation, as well as CBS and Viacom, both of which are also content partners.

Joost’s stations will also include content from Warner Bros. Television, the Turner Broadcasting System, Sony Pictures Television, CHUM Television, Hasbro, and the NHL.

Preceding Seltzer at nextMEDIA on June 10 will be keynote speaker Dale Herigstad, chief creative officer of interactive agency Schematic.

The event, running June 8-10, ahead of the Banff World Television Festival, will also feature panel discussions, case studies and the Telefilm Launch Pad pitching competition, with $10,000 up for grabs.

www.joost.com

www.futureofdigitalcontent.com (nextMEDIA)