Google Goes Prime-Time: TV and the Internet converge...the other way

[Baraka_Guru]

I think it was just a matter of time. Internet on TV (rather than TV on the Internet). For whatever reason, I didn't think Google was going to be the moving force behind it.

I think it interesting though, the convergence of TV and Internet has been in talks for over a decade. Is this the final frontier?

I like the comparisons drawn between this and the upcoming release of the iPad. We have some interesting times coming up in living room entertainment.

What do you think about all this?
Do you see your consumption habits changing with these new technologies?

Google goes prime time
Search-engine giant teams with Intel and Sony to offer Web services on TV sets
Omar El Akkad

Globe and Mail Update Published on Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010 8:15PM EDT Last updated on Friday, Mar. 19, 2010 3:34AM EDT

With control of the largest video repository on the web, Google Inc. (GOOG-Q566.400.840.15%) is setting its sights on yet another new frontier: television.

The Web search firm is teaming up with Intel Corp. and Sony Corp. to design a product that would enable users to access the Web's most popular services through their television sets.

The platform would be based on Google's Android operating system, initially designed for mobile devices and already running on many smart phones and electronic-book readers.

The New York Times first reported the latest project, dubbed Google TV, this week. Officially, Google will not comment on what spokespeople describe as rumours. However, discussions between the various companies are under way, a source indicated.

For Intel, the business opportunity in such a partnership lies in the ability to get more of the company's low-end Atom chips into more TVs. For Google, the money is in the potential for advertising on the platform.

While high-end TV manufacturers have largely shifted their attention to creating 3D sets, another trend has quietly taken hold in the industry: Internet capability.

Many of the newest TVs on the market come equipped with Internet connectivity and built-in, Web-based programming.

For example, the latest HDTV from Sony comes with access to YouTube – which is owned by Google – as well as episodes from websites dedicated to everything from cooking to travel to home repair

But to date, such programming has been limited. Like other forms of media content, streaming Internet-based media has also been hampered by myriad regional restrictions and licensing agreements. Many of the most popular video- and audio-streaming websites in the world are largely inaccessible outside the United States.

Google TV is believed to be a means of making the Web as accessible on a TV as it is on a computer, giving users access to sites such as Facebook, in addition to media content.

Some analysts aren't convinced Google's latest attempt at expansion will work. Morningstar analyst Larry Witt noted the company has previously tried entering the TV, radio and print advertising markets, with little success.

Some of Google's recent expansions – most notably, into the mobile-phone space – have made sense, Mr. Witt said, because they are natural extensions of the company's core business of Web search and digital advertising.

“But TV is just completely different,” he said. “I'm not sure what they bring to this that someone else couldn't.”

In contrast to the fast-growing world of mobile application development, TV apps are still in their infancy. Google's advantage in creating a viable ecosystem for TV apps may well come from Android, an open-source operating system for which developers have already designed thousands of apps for mobile phones.

Other companies have tried similar Web-TV strategies before. Notably, Apple released a product that allows users to stream content from iTunes to their TVs. However, compared with other Apple products, it hasn't sold well.

With the iPad – a tablet computer conceived by Apple as a means of cementing the company's role at the centre of digital entertainment – set for release, Google TV may well pit the two tech giants against one another yet again. This time, it will be for a presence in consumers' living rooms.

Google goes prime time - The Globe and Mail

[Shauk]

Netflix beat them to the punch and has more relevant content that people want. Honestly, if I were a betting man, networks like NBC or FOX wont be the hoops to jump through to get your show "on the air" but Netflix/Google would be.

Netflix Everywhere: Sorry Cable, You're History

[Baraka_Guru]

I've got to hand it to Netflix. However, I wouldn't underestimate the likes of Google, Sony, and Intel. You do realize the market capitalization that these kinds of alliances amounts to, right?

It doesn't take much for the bigger guys to emulate, rip off, and eventually dominate a market pioneered by someone else.

Google is a Web content company, and they're freakin' huge. If they want to get content to your TV on their terms, they've got a number of options at their disposal.

And I don't know what you mean by "more relevant content." How is "the entire Internet" (i.e. via Google) not relevant? I'm thinking HD YouTube as the obvious start.

However, I also understand the concerns of some of the analysts: this is Google wandering a bit far from their base — the Internet isn't television, and vice versa. Or is it that defined?

It will be interesting to watch it develop, to say the least.

[Shauk]

well it's pointless to say who wins, because no matter who wins, the consumer wins. More competition = more choices

[Baraka_Guru]

True. I'm interested to see how the consumer customizes their experiences. How will they use an Internet-ready TV? How will they use the iPad?

I think we're reaching a point in technology that was inevitable: a true mass-customization of consumer experiences.

But, yes, more choice = win.

I can see tech companies and content creators going ape shit with this kind of thing. It's both unsettling and encouraging. We are in transition here, I think. And at this point, I'm referring to more than just Internet delivery. I'm talking about content delivery: music, movies, television, news, books, etc.

[Shauk]

The sad thing is, the whole shift to the internet for television is out of the stubborn business model of cable/sat not allowing for ala carte style channel packages.

Had they put in the research to make it happen, they'd be making more money now, instead I can only imagine as people move in droves to the internet to make it happen on their own. Netflix, Hulu, the whole shebang, exist probably simply because of this unwillingness to evolve.