Akimbo gets a new CEO

Video-on-demand specialist Akimbo has appointed Thomas Frank as its new CEO, the company announced Thursday. Frank, who was formerly with Real Networks and Dick Clark Productions, replaces Josh Goldman, who has held the post since 2004. Goldman will maintain his seat on the board of directors.

The company has tried, and struggled, to build up a service that will allow consumers to download movies or TV shows at their convenience. Consumers have to buy a player, essentially a set-top box, to get the service. The shows offered on the network also overlap substantially with what plays on cable TV.

Akimbo doesn't reveal subscriber numbers, but the company is believed to have very few of them. You don't see a lot of people standing in line at electronics superstores buying the company's box.

Venture capitalists have poured more than $27 million into the company.

Disney similarly tried unsuccessfully to promote a video-on-demand service, called MovieBeam, that needed its own set-top box. More than $48 million was put into MovieBeam, which recently sold for $10 million.

Akimbo is trying to shift to a model in which consumers don't have to buy the box, according to sources. Some have speculated that the company may convert its storage network into a caching service for other video-on-demand companies.