Google TV is “lurching rather than leaping”

Google TV has dominated the headlines for months and has inspired much talk of internet-enabled TV.  However, an In-Stat analyst describes the service as “lurching rather than leaping onto the market”.

Gerry Kaufhold claims there are two key issues limiting Google TV’s success – technical problems and the fact that major broadcast networks in the US are blocking access to Google TV.  “Very early reviews mention issues with the video quality coming in from various websites… there also has been a problem with passing through high definition video using the HDMI connections,” he said.

On top of that, ABC, CBS and NBC have all blocked access to their online video portals from the Google TV browser, which defeats the purpose of a service that gives viewers the freedom to search for ‘anything and everything’, doesn’t it?

At the moment, Hulu and CBS’s TV.com are also blocked.  As a result, full length programmes can be viewed via the internet, just not via Google TV.

From a user’s point of view, having all your content easily accessible in one place is surely what makes the prospect of Google TV so attractive?  However, a broadcaster’s perspective is different altogether… and they have fairly good reasons for wanting to keep Google out of the mix.  But as Rapid TV News states – the fact that viewers will not be able to watch certain content through Google TV will not only dishearten viewers but also removes “a key plank in [Google TV’s] monetisation proposition”.

The question is – will Google be able to convince TV networks to play ball; to find a happy medium that enables both parties to monetise content?