Jalipo, the Internet TV service that charged on a minute by minute pay-as-you-go basis, has entered the deadpool. The browser-based offering, which delivered both on-demand and live streaming, was purchased by the ROK Entertainment Group earlier this year at a valuation of $16.8 million. But after just five months, its new owners appear to have had a change of heart. Blaming the current economic climate, ROK has decided to shut down the service and reportedly lay off its 30 London-based employees.
“We had high hopes for Jalipo when we acquired the business earlier this year, but it did not gain the traction we were expecting,” ROK marketing director Bruce Renny told Broadband TV News.
“Without significant and unplanned additional investment, we believe it would not grow significantly and, given the current economic climate, we have taken the decision to concentrate our resources and efforts on promoting our core revenue-generating mobile entertainment businesses whilst saving the costs associated with Jalipo.”
While the current economic downturn will likely make all companies re-evaluate their future spending plans, ROK’s decision to shutdown Jalipo probably has more to do with the service’s broken business model.
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