Google To Host Online TV Service
Internet search icon Google is to begin streaming television broadcasts over the internet after signing up American broadcasters and holding negotiations with the BBC over the possibility of British content.
According to reports, the search giant hopes to amass an online library of programmes which can be searched and viewed online from any computer.
The service has the potential to provide British users with screenings of American shows many months in advance of their conventional screenings on this side of the Atlantic, causing potential headaches for broadcasters and advertisers already struggling with online programme pirates.
The company’s first move is to offer online screenings of a Chris Rock sitcom entitled Everybody Hates Chris from US TV channel UPN, with users able to tune in via their web browser up to one week after its initial broadcast. Google hopes to avoid piracy issues by preventing users from saving the video file onto their hard drives.
Google’s new direction is sure to make waves amongst the broadcasting and technology communities alike, although its latest innovation is in fact nothing new. The BBC is currently trialing its MyBBCPlayer software, which will eventually allow any licence fee payer in Britain to tune into TV and radio content for up to seven days after its original broadcast. The BBC’s offering will also enable users to tune into live simulcasts of BBC One and BBC Two online (see Thompson Announces On Demand Programming From BBC).
Elsewhere, companies such as GreenGrass are promising to make web TV a viable experience for viewers. The new technology firm has already signed its first high profile content provider, with ITN News the first broadcaster to appear on its trial platform. The service, which will launch officially next year, is built specifically for web viewers, with a pre-paid credit system allowing viewers to choose different quality video feeds and for broadcasters to set their own subscription rates (see ITN Signs Up For GreenGrass Web TV).
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