Babelgum Previews Platform at MIPTV with Spike Lee

CANNES, April 18:
Acclaimed director Spike Lee was on hand at the Babelgum launch here in Cannes
yesterday, where the company’s founders previewed their new platform, which
looks to deliver niche, broadcast-quality content over the Internet.

The new peer-to-peer based
platform, which is still in beta testing, is the brainchild of Silvio Scaglia,
the chairman and financial backer of Babelgum (as well as the founder, chairman
and largest shareholder of Fastweb in Italy); and Erik Lumer, the platform’s
CEO.

In introducing Babelgum,
Scaglia said that the system can allow TV-quality video over a low-bandwidth
broadband connection and that it allows the user to define his or her own
channels, providing an “extremely personalized” experience. Moreover, Scaglia
noted, the platform is “smart”, in that it can use your previous viewing
choices to automatically add relevant content to your individual channel
lineups.

Lumer likened the
experience of Babelgum to a sitting in a rocking chair: “By combining the best
of TV with the power of the Internet, you get a rocking chair
experience—you can sit back and get immersed in the viewing experience
and then lean forward to interact with the experience.”

The platform is busy doing
content deals here at MIPTV, promising rights holders a guaranteed minimum
payment, plus a share of advertising revenues once the system is officially up
and running. Straight licensing deals are also available.

Spike Lee has already come
on board, making his Unicef-commissioned documentary Jesus Children of
America available for viewing on
Babelgum as of today. “It’s a very important film and I wanted people to see
it,” said Lee, the director of such acclaimed films as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X. “Babelgum provides a great opportunity to get your work seen.”

According to Scaglia, the
commercial launch of Babelgum is slated for early 2008, and the platform hopes
to have as much as 10,000 hours available by the end of this year.