Vuze Gathers More Investment, Adds TiVo Founder To BOD

We here at Profy have spoken before of Vuze. A video content distribution company built upon the P2P-based platform Azureus, Vuze is akin to the iTunes TV shop in that it provides easy access to professionally-produced material both new and old – albeit with one great distinction: most of the stuff’s free.

Fairly recently, Vuze made a few headlines through the issuance of a petition to the FCC to investigate and halt ISPs’ practices of throttling bandwidth and network access to restrict the proliferation of data sent across the Internet via the BitTorrent protocol. It has demanded a stop to such selective restriction for the fact that it’s business model is wholly reliant on the technology, and stated that any blocks would shackle its business plan to the point of inoperability and out-and-out failure.

That said, the company is nonetheless maintaining a rosy look on the future, and even just yesterday divulged to the press its success in attracting further investment ($20m) from a selection of venture capitalists, including: New Enterprise Associates, Redpoint Ventures, Greycroft Partners, BV Capital, and Jarl Mohn. Furthermore, Vuze managed also to recruit Mike Ramsay, a founder and former CEO of TiVo, the popular digital video recorder manufacturer and service provider, to its Board of Directors. Surely such developments bode quite well for the business. If nothing else, they will prove a collective boost to its corporate and public relations campaigns.

Of course, both the cash infusion and Ramsay’s addition likely don’t portend phenomenal growth or anything of that sort in the months ahead. Vuze will probably continue on the path it’s chosen, albeit with a touch more haste. One shouldn’t expect any surprises or momentous changes as a result of the abovementioned gains, but perhaps it will show itself to be a bit more energetic as a result and more quickly expand its library.

Also, having a former head of TiVo join the ranks, if only to participate in board-level discussions and deliberations – rather than, say, exercise executive powers - could rightly be interpreted as a sign of confidence in Vuze’s efforts. Which, too, may prove a notable propellant. The fact that the company has in a short time established ties with a great litany of partners, some more well-known than others (BBC, A&E, and G4, to name a few), is no small feat, and Ramsay’s affiliation could add fuel to the fire, as they say, and nudge Vuze forward a significant degree.

All in all, Vuze appears well en route to the next round of the IPTV wars (if one can call them so). Whether it survives in the long run is far too difficult to foretell, but if it manages to retain and steady grow its resources throughout 2008, it’s bound to make an exceptional name for itself. That is if it maintains its independence, anyhow.

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