The mystery is beginning to lift around Building B,the codename of a new stealth start-up working on a new triple-play home entertainment platform for U.S. consumers. The company has attracted US $17.5 million in VC funding from Morgenthaler Ventures, Omni Capital, Index Ventures and private investors; it has also recently appointed Andy Lack, chairman of Sony BMG Entertainment, to its board.
Phil Wiser, Building B co-founder, president and chairman — and former Sony CTO and founder of digital music pioneer Liquid Audio — said the new platform “gives consumers a complete, modern video experience that is elegant and instantly accessible, rather than require the consumer to learn how to put all of the pieces together and then pay an exorbitant price,” reports World Screen News.
The new firm’s senior team includes former executives from CBS, NBC, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Showtime and Viacom. Individuals on the management team have also led technology and market innovations while at Sony, Numerical Technologies, Liquid Audio, Clearwire and Bell Labs.
The service consists of a turnkey home video entertainment solution that seamlessly integrates traditional television content in HDTV and extends it with on-demand premium content and Internet video, all delivered to the living room television without the need for a PC, the report adds.
Last April the company announced it had procured Claria’s Axon personalisation platform, to deliver targeted content and advertising. According to this report in Multichannel News, Building B will unveil its commercial partnerships this autumn, with a view to marketing the platform in the second-half of 2008.
The Beyondness of Things 