Movielink Flexes Its Industry Muscle

After establishing its new digs in Santa Monica, Calif. last week, IP-based video-on-demand (VoD) service Movielink added four technology veterans to its roster of executive personnel, two of which come from close industry rivals Intertainer.com and DIRECTV.

Slated to launch before the end of this year, the distribution service, which is backed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, and Warner Bros., will offer movie downloads from select feature and indie films on a pay-per-transaction basis that will vary depending on which movie studio provides the content. The site will also provide content from independent video and film producers wanting to distribute films to Movielink’s subscriber base.

In preparation for its highly anticipated debut, the company has hired John Godwin as its chief technology officer, Bruce Anderson as VP of operations, Kenneth Goeller as VP of business systems, and Bryan Spaulding, an original member of the Movielink development team, as VP of engineering.

All four executives have been working for Movielink for several months prior to today’s announcement and come from all facets of the entertainment and technology industries.

Godwin, who comes to Movielink from DIRECTV where he served as principal architect of the launch team and later as the company’s chief technologist and senior vice president for advanced products, will be responsible for infrastructure and operations, including the Movielink web site, content distribution network, content security, e-commerce operations, and the company’s technical evolution into new services and platforms.

Anderson, who previously served as senior vice president of technology for video-on-demand rival Intertainer.com, will oversee the weekly operations of the Movielink service, web services, and content delivery. Intertainer.com currently provides the same Internet-based distribution service that Movielink is gearing up for and is backed by Intel, Comcast, and Thomson Multimedia.

Goeller, a recruit from Global eTechnologies, a maker of banking and insurance software, has been tapped to maintain Movielink’s financial, customer service and enterprise support systems.

Spaulding, one of the founding fathers of Movielink’s development team when it was formally known as Moviefly under the wing of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, will focus his efforts on content acquisition, content management, and e-commerce. Spaulding formerly worked for Viant as a business unit technology officer.

“We have assembled an experienced and respected team to run our technology division,” said Jim Ramo, Movielink’s chief executive officer since January. “They all understand the technological complexities and challenges of working in the Internet VoD space and I know that they will contribute individually and collectively to the success of our venture.”