TelcoTV: New video content, STB player emerges

ATLANTA--A new company has emerged, promising to give telecom service providers relatively easy entry into video services using a combination of wireless and wireline access and specially designed consumer equipment. The idea is to let telecom operators offer video without the pesky billion-dollar upgrades of their access plant.

Building B, as it is known for now, is a California firm whose service will combine broadcast video, much of it delivered wirelessly, with broadband-connections for interactivity and Internet video. The firm has designed both a powerful set-top box (STB) with massive storage capabilities and an eight-button remote control device that allows consumers to easily access both broadcast and stored video as well as Internet content. In addition, the service offers a high degree of customization on a per-user, not just per-household basis, said David Allred, senior vice president of marketing for Building B.

The company, which has been keeping a low profile, wants to partner with service providers to enable them to offer Building B’s video services to their customers without having to undergo major infrastructure upgrades, Allred said. Service providers provide the customer base, customer relationships, broadband data services and customer support. Building B provides the wireless capability, the video content aggregation and the STB and remote control it has designed for ease of use. The two companies will share revenue, both in terms of subscriptions and, ultimately, advertising.

“We offer a complete solution – we are a TV service provider not unlike a cable or satellite company,” he said. “But we are going quite a bit further. We provide all video content – broadcast, movies, Internet, podcasts, streaming video – all in one simple plug and play system.”

One thing unique about Building B is its approach to delivering video. Ninety-five percent of all video content will be delivered into the home via a wireless connection – using a variety of spectrum methods such as WiMAX, 700 MegaHertz spectrum and digital TV spectrum – and stored in the STB. A broadband connection – DSL, cable modem or wireless – will be used for interactivity and Internet access. The remote control device is set up so individual users turn the service on using their own buttons, and users each see a personal profile based on their preferences and viewing patterns.

“We will use a collaborative filtering approach similar to Amazon, with algorithms that offer recommendations,” Allred said. “But we are going beyond that. Instead of recommending a program to you, we just go ahead and record it and present it in your profile. We record a tremendous amount of content – 1000 hours of content at any one time – and we allow users to create playlists, or ‘best of’ lineups.”

In addition, with one click, users can access Internet-based information related to what they are viewing, he said. That will enable content providers, most if not all of whom are building Internet content around their brands, to integrate that content with their broadcast content.

“It gives us the ability to deliver new types of services,” Allred said. Targeted advertising becomes more possible because the STB tracks specific user activity. “If you are browsing travel sites, we can even push travel advertising to you,” he added.

Building B will be releasing more information on its strategies later this year and will more than likely be developing a new brand name that is more “consumer friendly,” Allred said. The company was founded in mid-2006 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Bruno Pati and Phil Wiser, the former CTO of Sony Corporation of America, and a digital music pioneer who founded Liquid Audio. Building B got its first public funding in August, a $19.5 million round led by Morgenthaler Ventures and OmniCapital.

Although its primary target might be Tier 2 and Tier 3 players, Allred points out that major companies such as Qwest Communications aren’t planning massive infrastructure upgrades, and that even the AT&Ts and Verizons of the world will be hard-pressed to reach every consumer with new wireline plant. “So far, we are finding there is a great deal of interest – almost 100% among the companies we’ve talked to,” said Allred, who spoke at a NetVideo Summit here this week.