Joost, a legal streaming TV service coming from the Scandinavian creators of Kazaa and Skype

Swedish Radio News reports that many pay-TV channels are being offered illegally over the Internet. Moreover, while cable and satellite operators may survive the pirate threat, legal services are on the way as well, and will be providing a significant alternative.

According to the report, the number of pirate sites is rapidly increasing, with in some cases thousands of channels from around the world being offered. In Sweden it is legal to watch such channels, but to make available copyrighted material without permission is illegal.

Sports broadcasts are very popular among illegal streaming sites. Last fall soccer matches from the Swedish channel Canal Digital were illegally streamed on a website, which was closed after pressure was put on the authorities by the TV industry.

Swedish Radio News quotes a viewer who says many of the pirate servers are in China.

Viasat, which offers packages of its own and other channels by satellite and cable, is reportedly not worried. The company, which is linked to one of Sweden’s major Internet providers, says merely it is watching the situation.

But legal Internet TV services are coming, which can threaten satellite and cable operators. Christer Zetterström, the Swede behind Kazaa and Skype, has along with his Danish partner Janus Friis, created Joost (formerly known as the Venice Project) a soon to launch legal streaming TV site.

Unfortunately the site is still in an apparently closed Beta (there used to be a system where Beta users could send invitations to others, but that closed). Here’s some selections from their press release:

Currently available in private beta testing, Joost combines the best of TV and the best of the Internet by offering viewers a unique, TV-like experience enhanced with the choice, control and flexibility of Web 2.0…

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Joost is powered by a secure, efficient, piracy-proof Internet platform that enables premium interactive video experiences while guaranteeing copyright protection for content owners and creators…

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Joost is the first global TV distribution platform, bringing together advertisers, content owners and viewers in an interactive, community-driven environment. Joost can be accessed with a broadband Internet connection and offers broadcast-quality content to viewers for free.

Joost has received very positive reviews from several podcasts on the Twit network, including much of an entire edition of “Net@Nite”.

Beta applications here.

More information the the Joost blog.