Following the $4.1 billion sale of Skype to online auction giant eBay in 2005, Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom invested part of the money in developing “The Venice Project,” an idea for a broadband television service for computers…and quietly went to work. Soon, the wait may be over: a spokesperson for Friis and Zennstrom has confirmed that a private beta test of the product was launched last week, with some 6,000 users already testing the service.
According to Janus Friis’s blog, The Venice Project has been in low-key testing for a few months; the private beta marks the first expansion to a larger scale.
The Venice Project—no details yet on what the final name may be—aims to offer high-quality video programming via the Internet, supported by advertising. The project wants to bring high-quality TV programming to Internet viewers: the quality of the programming will draw a significant audience for the video, and the significant audience will, in turn, draw advertising. The Venice Project wants to “bring together the best of TV with the best of the Internet,” combining compelling content and storytelling with well-understood computer and Internet technologies like the ability to search, sort, tag, recommendations, and community involvement.
The spokesperson for Friis and Zennstrom said The Venice Project is expected to be available in 2007.
Prior to Skype, Friis and Zennstrom also co-founded the Kazaa file sharing service, bought by Sharman Networks in 2001. In July of this year, Friis and Zennstrom paid an undisclosed portion of Sharman Networks’ payment to the music and movie industries to settle copyright infringement claims.
