Skype founder to launch global broadband TV station

Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, the founders of Skype, are set to launch a global broadband television service next year, promising viewers and advertisers the best of the internet coupled with the best of TV.

Friis and Zennstrom, also founders of music download applications Kazaa, sold Skype to eBay for £1.3bn last year and are reported to have invested part of the proceeds to develop the service, according to a report in the Financial Times. It has been codenamed The Venice Project.

The project will show near-high-definition programmes, which will be supported by advertising revenue. Users can personalise channels or join forums to discuss content. The amount of advertising revenue available to the project will differ according to whether the content owner sells the ads or if its own sales team book them.

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Tags: skype tv broadband digital advertising the+venice+project