Vuze, Inc. (formerly Azureus, Inc.) is an American
media-services provider founded in 2006 by some of the core developers of the
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
BitTorrent client Azureus. Based in
San Mateo, California
San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
, Vuze provides on-demand content watchable on a computer monitor or a connected TV. It bills itself as "the company behind Azureus".
History
The company claimed to have "distribution deals with 12 television, film and media companies".
Vuze has attracted and featured content from global television networks such as the
BBC,
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...
,
PBS,
A&E, or
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
, along with production studios and content creators.
In December 2006, the
BBC announced that hundreds of episodes of its programs will be made available through Vuze (restricted by
DRM).
In January 2007, the company launched an Azureus-powered open entertainment platform called
Vuze (formerly Zudeo), which is intended to enable content providers to easily distribute their content over the Internet.
In November 2007, Vuze filed a petition with the
U.S. Federal Communications Commission to restrict Internet traffic throttling by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Vuze filed its “Petition for Rulemaking” to urge the FCC to adopt regulations limiting Internet traffic throttling, a practice by which
ISPs block or slow the speed at which Internet content, including video files, can be uploaded or downloaded. The same month, PBS and Vuze launched a content Alliance.
In December 2007, Vuze secured $20 million in its C round of funding. This round was led by
New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with existing investors
Redpoint Ventures, Greycoft Partners, BV Capital, and Jarl Mohn participating. As a result of the investment,
TiVo Co-Founder and former CEO Mike Ramsay joined the Vuze Board of Directors.
References
External links
*
{{bittorrent
Free software companies
Companies based in San Mateo, California
Software companies established in 2006
Online mass media companies of the United States
Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
2006 establishments in California