Updates to this story
Google TV has encountered its first major glitch, with mainstream broadcasters blocking their TV programmes from being displayed on the new smart TV.
ABC, CBS and NBC have all blocked the TV programmes from their websites from being viewable on Google TV, creating mounting tensions between the media and Google, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The studios allow promotional clips to be displayed on Google TV, but full episodes of big hit TV shows like The Office, CSI, and Modern Family cannot be viewed, despite the fact that they can be viewed normally on the studio websites with a standard PC and internet connection.
The move effectively cripples part of Google's aim, which was to marry TV and the internet so that users did not have to choose between either. Now, however, users who want to watch the episodes they've missed on the internet will have to go back to their PC.
The decision to block content is due to multiple reasons, including the threat of piracy which some of the studios believe Google has not sufficiently addressed. Some of the companies may fear that users will watch their shows on the internet instead of from the actual TV channels, since both can be accessed via Google TV. Others, like ABC's owner Disney, have had public spats in the past with Google over not filtering out piracy links from search engine results relating to its TV shows.
Fox and MTV are not currently blocking their content from Google TV, but they indicated that they have not yet made up their minds, which could mean an even larger block of content from the platform in the weeks and months to come.
“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,” a Google spokeswoman said.
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I wouldn't be too surprised if Google becomes a content creator, perhaps pushing the more talented semi-pro producers on shoe-string budget, ratcheting up production values as their shows gain traction.
The danger being that once you realize you can get quality viewing for next to nothing, people might only be willing to watch the showcase series on prime-time in sufficient numbers to satisfy advertisers.
"Where? Why?" you ask, and
"How can I get in on that action?"
Man, you sure have
a lot of questions...
as tickers or scoopers
tanks for hopping
Ironically, every show I can watch on Hulu or the network sites, I watch that way. It's only the few shows like The Mentalist, SVU, etc. that they won't put up that I have to resort to downloading. I'm basically "honest", but they force me to download if they block the content.
When will the content providers realize that the only people inconvenienced by anti-piracy measures are the customers? Pirates always find a way around that stuff. Blu-Ray was cracked quickly and now the hardware encryption key is in the wild and it won't be long before you can get little boxes that let you copy anything you want for not much money!