The advent of Internet TV accelerated last week with the introduction of Babelgum, a new Internet TV network launched by Silvio Scagli, the founder of Fastweb. The announcement follows the recent launch of Joost, a network that has succeeded in reaching an agreement with Viacom to broadcast some of its content.
Babelgum “expects to carry content from major studios, but specifically lends itself to niche content, which although professionally produced and high quality, rarely receives airtime on traditional television platforms,” according to Erik Lumer, Babelgum’s co-founder/CEO.
Content is arranged in thematic channels, including news, sports, documentaries, fiction and animation that can be accessed on demand. Content owners will be able to create their own branded channels and users can configure personalized channels with content scheduled to fit their tastes and interests, Lumer said.
Babelgum will be ad-supported and free to users. “We are building an infrastructure that will deliver targeted advertising,” Lumer said. “It is envisaged that advertising will be incorporated into programming in much the same way as it is in existing broadcast television models. The difference is that user profiling will deliver sophisticated online marketing tools to enable highly targeted promotion of goods and services.”
When asked what type of ads will play at Babelgum, Lumer said, “Advertising formats are currently under development, however it is envisaged that advertising will initially follow the practices established in the traditional broadcast television model, both program sponsorship and timed inserts.”
He said Babelgum will sell advertising, but content providers and third party networks may sell it, too.
Lumer declined to compare Babelgum with Joost, saying “Players like Joost and Babelgum are developing an entirely new and global market. It is a market that offers great promise for all the participants.”
Utah Leaders and Locals Rally To Keep Sundance Film Festival In The State
With the 2025 Sundance Film Festival underway, Utah leaders, locals and longtime attendees are making a final push — one that could include paying millions of dollars — to keep the world-renowned film festival as its directors consider uprooting.
Thousands of festivalgoers affixed bright yellow stickers to their winter coats that read "Keep Sundance in Utah" in a last-ditch effort to convince festival leadership and state officials to keep it in Park City, its home of 41 years.
Gov. Spencer Cox said previously that Utah would not throw as much money at the festival as other states hoping to lure it away. Now his office is urging the Legislature to carve out $3 million for Sundance in the state budget, weeks before the independent film festival is expected to pick a home for the next decade.
It could retain a small presence in picturesque Park City and center itself in nearby Salt Lake City, or move to another finalist — Cincinnati, Ohio, or Boulder, Colorado — beginning in 2027.
"Sundance is Utah, and Utah is Sundance. You can't really separate those two," Cox said. "This is your home, and we desperately hope it will be your home forever."
Last year's festival generated about $132 million for the state of Utah, according to Sundance's 2024 economic impact report.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez told reporters last week that they had not made a final decision. An announcement is expected this year by early spring.
Colorado is trying to further sweeten its offer. The state is considering legislation giving up to $34 million in tax incentives to film festivals like Sundance through 2036 — on top of the $1.5 million in funds already approved to lure the Utah festival to its neighboring... Read More