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.”
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More