GoogleTV Unifies Pay-TV and Web Video
Posted by Jesse Ward on Thursday, May 20, 2010 · 
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Today, at Google’s annual I/O conference, the search giant announced that it is leading a group of companies, including Sony and Intel, in a new initiative called Google TV. (see the video after the jump)
“TV meets web. Web meets TV” is the slogan Google is going with for this new endeavor. GoogleTV promises to bring Internet video to your TV set, and it offers a new, slick interface to navigate and search traditional television programs and online content, including Hulu, Amazon and Netflix.Google touted the capabilities in it’s blog posting:
Google TV uses search to give you an easy and fast way to navigate to television channels, websites, apps, shows and movies. … If you know what you want to watch, but you’re not sure where to find it, just type in what you’re looking for and Google TV will help you find it on the web or on one of your many TV channels. If you’d rather browse than search, you can use your standard program guide, your DVR or the Google TV home screen, which provides quick access to all of your favorite entertainment so you’re always within reach of the content you love most.
GoogleTV runs on an Android, open-source platform which will enable Android apps to work on the TV set. GoogleTV will also utilize Google Chrome for the browser and incorporate Adobe Flash.
The Internet giant has partnered with Sony and Logitech to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players and stand-alone, companion boxes which will work alongside the customer’s existing pay-TV subscription service. These devices will go on sale this fall, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. Dish Network is also on board with plans to offer an advanced integration with existing set-top boxes
Google made it clear that its end goal is advertising. During its keynote presentation, the company noted that TV boasts more than 4 billion users worldwide, and U.S consumers spend 5 hours a day, on average, watching TV. The real kicker was when Google announced that 70 billion dollars is spent annually on television advertising in the U.S. The search giant is hoping for a piece of this pie.
Many companies already offer Internet video on the TV, including Boxee, Roku and Vudu. Historically it’s been a difficult sell to mainstream customers
Of note, YouTube made a complimentary announcement this morning. YouTube’s Director of Product Management, Hunter Walk unveiled YouTube Leanback, a personalized channel that you can access on Web, and through Google TV. The point of Leanback is to give the user a customized and easy viewing experience ideal for TVs. The interface also enables full access to HD videos.
For more on GoogleTV, see New York Times and TechCrunch, and watch the official GoogleTV video below.
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