A whole slew of articles and analysis about Google's move into the world of TV. Starting with the release itself: Announcing Google TV: TV meets web. Web meets TV.
The rest of these links offer different interpretations on what the announcement means for the TV advertising business, what the announcement means for the cable TV business, and some ancillary speculations about what the announcement means for the future of proprietary video compression technologies (and their proponents, such as Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft).
My take on the announcement is that Google will not be a game changer in this market unless it can scale the solution to more products and retailers than its launch partners Sony, Logitech, and BestBuy. But as with a lot of the things Google does (e.g. Chrome, Android), it's hard to say whether they want to own the Web TV (or browser or mobile OS) market, or whether they just want to spur other players into increased innovation -- and thereby get more people using the internet longer and more often. One telling anecdote from the launch is that Google roped in a lot of heavy hitters from across the TV value chain to help them promote the initiative, many of whom remarked in subsequent interviews that they foresee themselves increasingly continuing to find themselves in situations where they both compete and cooperate with Google in the future. That said, there are a few companies that should be thinking hard about what the ramifications of the announcement might be for them, including Rovi and Clicker.com, interestingly one of the companies highlighted at Google I/O.
In related news from Down Under, Foxtel announced that they will offer 30 channels via Microsoft's Xbox 360, one of only a handful of such deals in the world so far.
Oh, and the FTC approved the Google/AbMob deal too.
Tues 18 May 2010
Cable Company Makes a Move on Internet Video
Google and Intel in web TV launch
Google and Intel in web TV launch
- The Europeans get a couple of scoops: First, Liberty Global (one of the largest cable companies in Europe) "will soon introduce a set-top box that will marry traditional cable content with apps, widgets and access to web-based video." Also, the FT are reporting that the new Google/Intel set-top box product will be called Smart TV, and will be based on the Android platform.
- Interesting piece on how Comcast's CEO is vowing that the internet/cable powerhouse will not squash NBC's creative culture. It's good to see that Roberts gets that the same corporate mentality doesn't necessarily apply to organizations focused the creation of content versus the dissemination of content. I guess this proves McLuhan wrong: The medium is not the message.
- WSJ cites a comScore report indicating that overall Facebook ad impressions have now surpassed both Yahoo and Microsoft, even if Facebook still lags behind the others in revenue and profit. If FB hasn't completely cocked up the privacy issue, it will be interesting to see how long it takes them to catch up to the big two where dollar$ are concerned.
Tues 11 May 2010
Fending Off Microsoft, Google Invests In TV Ad Startup Invidi
AT&T Renames Video Portal 'U-verse Online': Telco to Offer Authenticated Content to Video Subscribers in 2010
FCC Clears Way for Studios to Deliver First-Run Films to Homes
Report: Half flat-panel TVs will have Ethernet by 2013
AT&T Interactive and Citysearch Expand Relationship
AT&T Renames Video Portal 'U-verse Online': Telco to Offer Authenticated Content to Video Subscribers in 2010
FCC Clears Way for Studios to Deliver First-Run Films to Homes
Report: Half flat-panel TVs will have Ethernet by 2013
- The landscape of video content continues to evolve into a complicated game, pitting studios, telcos, digital media companies, and cable operators against one another. The question is: Who will win? Or: Will there be a single winner? HuffPo is wondering the same thing.
AT&T Interactive and Citysearch Expand Relationship
- Similarly, the local/social search space continues to become more incestuous, as former competitors strike alliances and former friends begin cutting each others' lunch. All this to influence the local shopper, and thereby control the local advertiser's dollar. And when the consumer decides to buy something: the credit card company, the mobile phone manufacturer, and the telco will all want a piece of the action.
- Seems like the big G is ramping up its own answer to Amazon's Kindle store and Apple iBook store. The news sheds new light on a job ad I saw recently.
Monday 2 May 2010
(Ed.: Just back to blogging after a bit of a break. A lot happened while I was away, so I'm just going to jump straight in with what's happening now.)
Hard Labor: Adobe Rebuilds Its Wired Magazine App to Fit Apple’s Flash-Free Agenda
Hard Labor: Adobe Rebuilds Its Wired Magazine App to Fit Apple’s Flash-Free Agenda
- I was impressed by reports of this demo a few months ago, but I didn't know how Adobe was going to make it fly with Apple's moratorium on Flash. Maybe it was Adobe's attempt to speak some sense to Apple: Look at how we can contribute to the iPad ecosystem if you just our tools in. Now that the two companies have had their public falling out, it looks like Apple is not going to budge from its stance. The thing is, of course Adobe can refactor their demo to comply with Apple's development guidelines, but how does this custom refactoring help them sell their packaged solutions to developers?
- Speaking of public fallings-out, the decline in the relationship between Google and Apple has been interesting (but sad) to watch. Now Apple is said to be charging launch partners more than $10mil to be the first to advertise with iAd, and here Google has acquired a 3D multitouch interface developer to help them compete with Apple on the user experience battle.
- Speaking of how confusing and competitive the landscape has become, it looks like TV is shaping up to be the next big battleground. Adobe, Apple, and Google all have stakes in the game, as do the manufacturers, the studios, the cable companies, and just about everyone else. It will be fascinating to watch this play out, and so far I haven't even mentioned mobile TV, which adds a whole new layer of complexity to the competition.
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