Zuneboards Launches ZuneTV: I Give it 90 Days Before the Lawsuits Start

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.zuneboards.com/tv/

I saw this news story over at Got Zune? and here's the launch message from the ZuneTV team:

"We’ve hinted at an upcoming project a few times earlier. We’ve asked for donations to help with the development costs. Well, after almost 4 months since the announcement, we are proud to launch ZuneTV. ZuneTV is a YouTube-like site specialized for Zuners. All content uploaded are automatically converted into a Zune-friendly .wmv format, that is readily available for download to members. To start off, we have already uploaded a few hundred videos, but the rest is up to you. Have a video you love? Think something is so absolutely hilarious that you must share? You’ve come to the right place. ZuneTV’s success is dependent on you, the member. To get started, you’ll first need a ZuneBoards account. For support and suggestions, we have set up a forum for that here. Without further ado, say hello to ZuneTV."

I think it's really great that they've decided to do something like this for the Zune Community, but if the content I see under the Most Watched Videos  is any indication of what the overall content is like, ZuneTV is going to run into trouble pretty quickly. The contest consists mostly of South Park episodes, MadTV clips, a few typical "teen stripper webcam" videos, and other commercial content that I have a hunch wasn't shared with permission. There are a few personal videos that might have been uploaded by the owners, but the double-compressed look of them leaves me doubting that as well.

It's really hard to launch a video site from the ground up and get legitimate content, but unless the ZuneTV people take copyright violations seriously, they're going to be in trouble.

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.zuneboards.com/tv/

I saw this news story over at Got Zune? and here's the launch message from the ZuneTV team:

"We’ve hinted at an upcoming project a few times earlier. We’ve asked for donations to help with the development costs. Well, after almost 4 months since the announcement, we are proud to launch ZuneTV. ZuneTV is a YouTube-like site specialized for Zuners. All content uploaded are automatically converted into a Zune-friendly .wmv format, that is readily available for download to members. To start off, we have already uploaded a few hundred videos, but the rest is up to you. Have a video you love? Think something is so absolutely hilarious that you must share? You’ve come to the right place. ZuneTV’s success is dependent on you, the member. To get started, you’ll first need a ZuneBoards account. For support and suggestions, we have set up a forum for that here. Without further ado, say hello to ZuneTV."

I think it's really great that they've decided to do something like this for the Zune Community, but if the content I see under the Most Watched Videos  is any indication of what the overall content is like, ZuneTV is going to run into trouble pretty quickly. The contest consists mostly of South Park episodes, MadTV clips, a few typical "teen stripper webcam" videos, and other commercial content that I have a hunch wasn't shared with permission. There are a few personal videos that might have been uploaded by the owners, but the double-compressed look of them leaves me doubting that as well.

It's really hard to launch a video site from the ground up and get legitimate content, but unless the ZuneTV people take copyright violations seriously, they're going to be in trouble.

[inteller]

depends on where the site is hosted. If it is in Sweden this could be around for a while. I dont like the forced registration though.

[Jason Dunn]

Originally Posted by inteller

depends on where the site is hosted. If it is in Sweden this could be around for a while.

True. But I got the sense that the ZuneBoards team was based in the US - which makes them vulnerable (I think) even if their server is outside the US.

[Adam Krebs]

Originally Posted by Jason Dunn

True. But I got the sense that the ZuneBoards team was based in the US - which makes them vulnerable (I think) even if their server is outside the US.

Yeah, if you read the Terms of Service, it says they're governed by the State of California, which I'm pretty sure doesn't take too kindly to copyright infringement.