JumpTV Provides Leading Ethnic Television to Joost
March 1, 2007TORONTO--(CCNMatthews - March 01, 2007) - JumpTV Inc. (AIM: JTV) (TSX: JTV) (www.jumptv.com), the world's leading broadcaster of ethnic television over the Internet, has partnered with Joost(TM) (www.joost.com), the world's first broadcast-quality, free-to-air Internet television service, to make a significant portion of JumpTV's library of video-on-demand television content available on a series of exclusive JumpTV-branded ethnic television vertical "channels" on the Joost platform.
JumpTV currently broadcasts live over the Internet thousands of popular television programs, news, music and sporting events from 270 channels from over 70 countries around the world on a subscription and advertising supported basis.
The initial JumpTV offering on Joost will feature programming regularly gathered from JumpTV's digitally rights compliant international television roster. The first JumpTV "channels" on Joost will feature popular Spanish-language series from Colombia, Chile and Peru, in addition to Arabic-language comedy, drama and news programs from some of the leading broadcasters in the Middle East.
JumpTV will be adding new programming on a daily or weekly basis, and intends to launch several more channels on Joost in other languages, including but not limited to Romanian, Turkish, Russian and Bengali.
Commenting on the partnership, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, president and chief executive officer of JumpTV International stated, "We see Joost as a unique and important distribution/programming partner. Like us, the Joost team innately understands the power of viral, high-affinity long-tail content -- for example, JumpTV's ethnic TV programming. Given the track record of the Joost founders, we believe that the Joost platform could be as transformational for online television as their previous ventures have been."
Yvette Alberdingkthijm, executive vice president of content strategy and acquisition of Joost said, "Content owners like JumpTV, with a diverse offering of channels that feed the global appetite for streamed online content, are a perfect match for Joost. Partnering with JumpTV will allow our viewers access to the best in global television programming in an Internet rights-compliant fashion."
Mike "JB" John-Baptiste, head of global distribution for JumpTV, said, "Joost, like JumpTV has been securing programming from key licensors of television content, so we were pleased to see that they recognized our singular commitment and leadership in ethnic television."
JB continued, "JumpTV is committed to providing our TV broadcaster content partners the broadest audience on the Internet as possible -- whether through ISPs, mobile carriers or Internet portals."
The partnership between Joost and JumpTV involves sharing of advertising revenues on the JumpTV-branded channels.