Today in “Old media versus the Internet,” the Wall Street Journal is reporting that major studios ABC (owned by Disney), CBS (part of CBS Corp) and NBC (owned by GE) have joined Hulu in blocking Google TV from accessing the available television episodes on their websites.
Various timeworn concerns such as lack of a viable business model for content owners, content being cannibalized by the Internet as well as Google’s as of yet unknown position on piracy led to each individual network’s decision to opt out.
A Google spokesperson told the WSJ:
“Google TV enables access to all the Web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owners’ choice to restrict their fans from accessing their content on the platform.”
Heh.
MTV, Fox and HBO are still available on Google TV, which surfs the Internet and allows you to view web content on your television through compatible devices, although Fox has not yet decided whether it will keep working with the service. Shows from other sub-networks like the CW and Lifetime are also still accessible, despite those networks being controlled by some of the parent companies listed above.
Looks like Google TV is the most recent battlefield in the three way war between Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It’ll be interesting to see who (if anyone) wins.
NBC Universal is a media and entertainment company, working in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. The company was formed through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment.
CBS Corporation is a mass media company with constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of the media industry. CBS, through its many and varied operations, combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets. It has operations in several...
ABCNews is your breaking news resource for top stories, videos, photos, blogs, special reports and exclusive celebrity interviews.
Fox Interactive Media (FIM) oversees News Corporation’s Internet business operations.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Shockwave, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.
Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and Google+, the company’s extension into the social space. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing...
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