Peer-to-Peer IPTV: Is Venice Sinking?

Blogger Alec Saunders thinks that the new, sort-of-top secret but not, The Venice Project by Kazaa and Skype cofounders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, is already sunk, and gives three reasons why (my rebuttal below). Venice marries the P2P (peer-to-peer) technology of Kazaa with IPTV (Internet Protocol TV). Om Malik presented an interview with Janus Friis, if you want some details from the horse’s mouth.

Yes, there are lots of video sharing networks, but this isn’t one of them. If they’re not exaggerating, this is TV on the Internet, complete with advertising. Yes, video will eat up bandwidth, but there are video junkies watching mobile TV on tiny smartphone/ PDA screens, over their cellular data network. This, at least, allows you to watch on a regular monitor. There is a market. Yes the big media players and others are already doing their own thing (like Microsoft’s live online concerts), but there are, what, 900+ M people online across the world?

There’s still room in the playing field. It’s early in the IPTV game yet, and the future victims are still breathing. I also strongly doubt, because we’re talking about the vastness of the Internet, that there will only be a few players. The broadcasters mentioned are all American companies. There are other large broadcasters out there, in at least South America, Europe and Asia, if not also elsewhere. So there IS still room.

While I’m partially inclined to agree with Alec’s reasons, I’m wagering that the Skype boys are smart enough to know their competition and will come up with something that’ll dazzle us. Or I could be wrong.