While Joost may have been first to launch, Hulu is the television service that has taken off while Joost has been left to die. But, Joost Mark II now seems to have started a new war between the two.
Joost Mark II
Joost was all but dead and buried as a legitimate and viable option for viewers to get their Web television kicks. But, it’s now back, new, improved, and available as a browser-based TV service rather than being a desktop client.
What’s more, Joost Mark II was given a features overhaul, and now comes complete with genre searching, and Facebook-style social networking features.
Hulu Copies
Joost still may not have the volume or variety of unmissable content that Hulu has, but it’s back and competing on an even playing field once again. Or at least it was until Hulu decided to beat Joost at its own game.
Clearly prompted by the amount of attention being given to the improved Joost over the last couple of weeks, Hulu has copied some of the features included in the new version.
Hulu’s New Features
So, Hulu now also has genre searching capabilities, specialised topic channels, show recommendations, discussion forums, and better queue management. Sound similar?
Content Competition
Hulu is also boasting that it now has 900 TV and film titles from over 100 content providers. Which is great but doesn’t really compare to Joost’s 35,000 odd videos, although it must be said, a lot of those are short and not exactly must-see TV.
Whereas Hulu has a brilliant blend of new and old, original Web programming such as LG15: The Resistance and regular TV shows such as Heroes and 30 Rock, and a lot more besides.
Available To All
Joost does have one advantage though: it’s available to all. As I’m outside of the US, I am effectively banned from watching any of the content on Hulu, so however brilliant it may be doesn’t really matter.
Joost upping its game has lead Hulu to do the same, which is all good for us viewers who use the Internet to view programming. Let’s hope this war carries on for a while and gets even nastier, as we can only benefit from it.
