Google’s Paid Search Could Head For Television

Google is planning to put a new version of its search engine on television screens with the aim of allowing viewers to “have access to everything”.

Eric Schmidt, chief executive of Google, told Business Online that the company believes it can offer a world-beating electronic programme guide which gives viewers with a broadband connection access to a huge range of video and film.

Schmidt said: “You have to look at what an electronic programme guide is. It is just a search engine and that is what Google does best.”

This will of course have huge implications for advertising revenue. Larry Page, co-founder and president of products at Google, is taking part in a project being carried out at the company’s US research labs which aims to develop a form of paid search suitable for internet television.

Google recently started placing “click-to-play” ads – where users have complete control of the video – on the websites it sells advertising on in the US, Canada and Japan (see A Commercial Break For Google).

Google: 020 7031 3000 www.google.co.uk/