Joost hires scouts to lure Hollywood programs

Joost, the Internet television service backed by global media players, said on Tuesday talent scouts Creative Artists Agency will help it lure big-name Hollywood programming to its service.

Joost, which was founded by Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom, who also started Web telephone calling company Skype, already has signed up name-brand programming and top advertisers for its service, although it remains in test mode.

The Luxembourg-based company offers 150 broadcast-quality television channels over the Web across a range of genres from films to soccer to cartoons to documentaries.

Joost aims to combine TV-like viewing with the wide choice and user control of the latest generation of Web services.

It is seeking to offer whole TV shows from both established producers and independent professional video makers, in contrast to YouTube, the world's most popular online video watching service, which specializes in short, user-generated programs.