Pioneering Webcaster Files for Chapter 11

By Thor Olavsrud

Pioneering Webcaster Pseudo Programs Inc. took the plunge Tuesday. Two weeks after laying off its 175 employees, the broadband entertainment company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Perhaps the company was too precocious for its own good. Born as an Internet chat company six years ago, in 1997 it became one of the first to broadcast original Web video programming. But Webcasting requires large amounts of bandwidth and that means broadband. The slow adoption of broadband Internet connections made the company hard to sell to investors. After failing to line up new financing, the company shut its doors on Sept. 18.

"The decision to shut down Pseudo's operations was difficult," said David Bohrman, Pseudo's former chief executive officer. "We developed a brand which became synonymous with innovative Interactive entertainment and came as close as any original content company has in defining a new medium that is right for audiences today and capable of expanding along with tomorrow's projected broadband growth. Despite tremendous progress, good-faith efforts, the hard work and creativity of Pseudo's employees, the loyalty of our vendors and a growing audience base, it was impossible to secure the necessary funding on an urgent basis to continue in today's difficult market climate."

The company is continuing to seek a buyer for its assets, including its brand of interactive, streaming video entertainment; its patent-pending operating system and other proprietary software; and its Webcasting production facilities.

"The Chapter 11 filing will protect the interests of our many stakeholders and should ensure that Pseudo's approach to interactive, broadband entertainment has an opportunity to develop and move forward," Bohrman said. "We believe the company has an approach to programming that is both compelling for viewers and a powerful medium for rich media advertising and sponsorship, as well as a top-notch technology and production infrastructure backbone that is unrivaled in the Webcasting industry today. We are hopeful that this filing will allow Pseudo to live on while allowing us to further explore opportunities for a potential acquisition."

http://www.internetnews.com/streaming-news/article/0,,8161_475931,00.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), October 04, 2000