Internet20

When it comes to Internet entrepreneurship, Niklas Zennstrom is the name that occurs first. Not only has he been hugely successful in the past two ventures that he started namely - Kazaa and Skype (subsequently sold to Sharman Networks and eBay respectively), but along with Janus Friis they look as if they have made it quite big when it comes to raking in the moolah.



However, as the character Zennstrom is, he has not stopped. He has involved himself again with Friis in the high-risk business of tech startups. As it seems now, this time though, it is not an innovative idea or first one to capitalize in a big way on a novel idea.



According to BusinessWeek Online, the enterprising duo is now currently working on a venture code named, CIA operation style, - The Venice Project, which is developing software for distributing TV shows and other visual content over the Internet. For this, they have reportedly hired ‘teams of top software developers from half-a-dozen cities from around the world’ who are currently in negotiations with TV networks to strike deals with them for distributing their content.



Now, how far this new venture will be successful depends on the number and quality of the agreements they reach with the TV networks (They surely would not like to get entangled into legal battles as it happened with Kazaa) and the intensity of competition they would face.



The model of distribution of the TV content is still unknown to me. Will it be like accessing the content (through their software of course) from a web server where it would be stored, or streamed in or have something on the lines of the YouTube model? Then would the software be downloadable in wireless devices like mobiles phones and PDAs as Skype is? Will this be an IPTV hybrid venture? I tried to search for some info but so far could not find much.



There are many, many such small and not so small firms doing the same. Whatever is the case, this time it might not be a super hit venture like Kazaa or Skype.



Presenting/sharing/distributing video content is proving to be a very lucrative business for new entrepreneurs. Everyone seems to be moving towards that; even individual first time entrepreneurs like ex-Rocketboomer Amanda Congdon had major successes and was able to entice people like Robert Scoble to leave his high profile job and join a podcasting venture. TV content in mobiles is no longer a novelty with 3G phones hitting the markets even in developing countries about 3-4 years back.



So, what can we expect from The Venice Project? The BusinessWeek article actually mentions that since Zennstrom and Friis are not leaving Skype and has speculated that eBay can be a player in the new Zennstrom-Friis project in the future (or who knows, maybe the project has the hidden blessings of eBay already). It seems to me that they might start this on a small scale just to test the water temperature with the big toe, and if it works out fine, only then the big plunge will happen and eBay might just join the fun then.



Whatever happens, people like you and me will have another option in the market, maybe catch a glimpse of the favourite TV program while at work. But trust me, the television sales or channel subscriptions are not going down already as DVD and CD sales did owing to Kazaa’s assault on the movie and music industry leaving it severely injured. Online TV, new though it may be, sounds so passe and boring.



Read28969