Joost closes UK office

The online video service Joost put its UK subsidiary into liquidation at the beginning of this month, according to TechCrunch. The liquidator said the company has “failed to sustain a significant share of the internet video industry and was unable to address this effectively through a re-positioning of its services.”

Joost UK is owned by Netherlands-based Joost Technologies. The online web TV service was launched by Kazaa and Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström in 2007 amidst great expectations. However, the service suffered from technological challenges, including the inability to attract good programming, as well as lack of income.

A few months ago, Joost CEO Mike Volpi stepped down and was later ousted. Already before that there were unconfirmed reports that the contracts of people working at the Dutch office were not being renewed. In late June, the company announced it would change its strategy, but apparently the move came too late.

At the time it wrote on its blog, “After much analysis, we have decided to change our focus and to start providing white label online video platforms for media companies and distributors. We have built a solid technology platform that there is demand for in the marketplace, and look forward to this new chapter for our company. At the same time, we’ll continue to operate Joost.com and its associated video applications.”

There have been no official announcements from the company since, but it certainly looks like the future of Joost is in danger.