Joost adds CNN, goes public beta

Our Joost watch continues with news that Turner, Sony Pictures Television, Sports Illustrated, NHL and Hasbro are adding content to the video platform. Later this month, CNN will add shows like Anderson Cooper 360 and Larry King Live. Also, Joost is now “commercially available,” but only if you’re invited by an existing beta tester. Release…

PRESS RELEASE — Joostâ„¢ (www.joost.com), the world’s first broadcast-quality Internet television service, today announced that Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) will begin to distribute content on Joost from its well-known brands and properties, including Adult Swim and CNN. Programming from Hasbro, the National Hockey League (NHL), Sports Illustrated (SI) and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) also will be available on Joost later this month.

“Partners like Turner, Hasbro, NHL, Sony Pictures Television and SI Swimsuit represent the quality and wide range of programming that Joost offers viewers,” said Yvette Alberdingk Thijm, executive vice president of content strategy and acquisition for Joost. “From compelling news magazines and cool animation to current and classic sports games, comedy and entertainment, the Joost platform is a destination for audiences looking for great programming, a flexible entertainment experience, and a community with which to share that experience. By marrying great content from all genres and compelling, interactive features, Joost is a truly unique way for consumers to watch videos online.”

The five content owners announced today will bring programming to Joost that crosses a range of genres, from comedy, cartoons and animation, and entertainment and film, to news and documentaries, lifestyle and sports.

Turner Broadcasting System: Episodes of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Robot Chicken” from Turner’s extremely popular Adult Swim network will be available on the Joost platform this week. Later this month, CNN will bring top-rated news programs and talk shows, including “Anderson Cooper 360˚,” “Larry King Live” and documentaries from the award-winning CNN Productions to Joost. For Joost users who want to catch up-to-the-minute breaking news while they watch their favorite programming, the CNN RSS feed has been added to the Joost news ticker. And beginning Thursday, fans of Turner South programs like “Home Plate,” “Off the Menu” and “Southern Home By Design” can tune in and watch these programs on Joost.

Sony Pictures Television: SPT will add classic programming from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s to Joost. The AXN Network will bring classic episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Spiderman,” “Starsky & Hutch” and “SWAT” to Joost. Programming from the “Funny Bone” brand, including episodes of “Action,” “Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl,” “NewsRadio” and “Who’s the Boss?” also begin airing on Joost Thursday.

SI: SI will distribute video shorts and interviews from this year’s SI Swimsuit photo shoots with popular models such as Marisa Miller, Brooklyn Decker and Jessica White. Full-length Swimsuit programs and additional behind-the-scenes footage from other recent shoots will be on Joost later this month.

NHL: This month, the National Hockey League will begin broadcasting a rich selection of Vintage games from the NHL archives; full game replays and highlights from regular season and Stanley Cup Playoff games will follow.

Hasbro: Joost viewers will be able to watch two channels based on legendary Hasbro properties – TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE. The TRANSFORMERS channel will feature full-length episodes of the original “G1” TRANSFORMERS animated series, which launched the epic feud between the AUTOBOTS and the DECEPTICONS, later this month. The G.I. JOE channel will broadcast full-length episodes of “G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO,” the iconic series that introduced kids to the “Joe team” and the evil COBRA COMMANDER in 1982. These programs will be available exclusively online through Joost in the U.S.

Dennis Quinn, executive vice president of business development for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. said, “With Joost, we have the unique opportunity to reach and engage new and existing fans of Turner programming through an innovative platform. Online distribution is extremely important to Turner, and with Joost we are confident that our programming is secure and distributed in the high-quality format that is true to our brands.”

As of Thursday, viewers will be able to watch programming from the new content partners by building a preferred list of channels or by using the channel catalog to find programming by name, channel or genre. Channels and programs available on Joost vary by geographic region, based on copyright ownership. While the most programming currently is available to viewers in the U.S., Joost is enhancing its worldwide offering with the addition of international, regional and local partners on a continual basis.

Janus Friis, co-founder of Joost, said, “The ability to make Joost a viable business, versus just a cool technology or viewer experience lies in our ability to bring together advertisers, content owners and viewers. Our business model was developed with the interests of our viewers and partners at the core. It’s exciting for us to enter this phase and truly begin executing on our vision.”

Founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, Joost combines the best of TV and the best of the Internet by offering viewers a unique, TV-like experience enhanced with the choice, control and flexibility of Web 2.0. Joost is the first online, global TV distribution platform, bringing together advertisers, content owners and viewers in an interactive, community-driven environment. Joost can be accessed with a broadband Internet connection and offers broadcast-quality content to viewers for free.