European entrepreneur Janus Friis, one of the minds behind KaZaA, Skype, Joost and Rdio, is gearing up to launch a new video service, dubbed VDIO.
The news first broke from GigaOm’s Janko Roettgers , who, after a bit of sleuthing, discovered that Vdio.com, which has been active for several years, was owned by Friis. The site is up for viewing right now, but all you’ll find of it is a teaser for the service with rotating stills from various TV shows and movies.
Shortly after Roettgers’ post went live, the company behind Vdio came out and officially confirmed the service and offered up a Q&A to answer a few questions. The Q&A reads:
What is VDIO? VDIO lets you instantly watch the best in TV and movies, right now.
How is it pronounced? Vee-dee-o
Who is behind VDIO? VDIO was founded by Janus Friis and is run by a team with experience from Skype, Napster, Microsoft, TV Guide, and Apache.
When will it launch? VDIO is currently in closed beta.
How is VDIO funded? VDIO is privately funded.
Where will VDIO be available? Initially, VDIO will be available in the U.K.
Where is the company based? VDIO has offices in Santa Monica and Europe.
How much does it cost? The pricing will be announced at a later time.
How is it different from Netflix and LoveFilm? We think people will love using VDIO.
Who is the team? Ian Aaron – Chief Executive Officer Justin Erenkrantz – Chief Technology Officer Priidu Zilmer – Creative Director Scott Barrow – Senior Vice President of Operations Sander Striker – Senior Vice President of Engineering Patrick Dodd – Senior Vice President of Global Licensing Jessica Algazi – Senior Vice President of Business Affairs
What is VDIO’s relationship to Rdio? VDIO and Rdio are run by separate teams.
According to VDIO’s Facebook app , only around 200 active monthly members are enrolled in the closed beta program as of now. There’s no word on when additional invites will be sent out, or when it’s expected to launch in the U.K.
In Roettgers’ original post, he suggested that VDIO could offer some form of free content – perhaps even a freemium service similar to Rdio’s. The company hasn’t confirmed that just yet, and likely won’t for awhile, but it does sound likely.
Would you be interested in a freemium video content service similar to Rdio and Spotify?
