Online Television - Coming Up

Google has announced, enigmatically, that it will be launching a pilot of a cable TV network in Kansas City in the new year. The company already announced last month that it would be launching a new and original Channel on YouTube, which has been actively seeking content providers to enhance its system.

The move to Google into television has the potential to radically change the TV industry. Predictions of television being taken over by the internet have been rampant for many years, but so far, nobody has stepped up and claimed a firm stake. Part of the problem is that the entry costs are huge, and the risk is high. But Google itself is huge and has never shied away from risk. So its a prime company for making the move.

Google is not planning an incursion into the traditional cable model. Rather they will be employing the internet as a vehicle for delivery. That will raise bandwidth issues, and since the infrastructure of the internet is owned by a number of large private communications networks, like Bell, it will require some cooperative agreements and collaboration. Not something Google has been good at in the past. Although word is they are getting better.

We are on the cusp of a major shake-up in the TV industry. But it is a complicated, over-regulated world that Google is venturing into, and it will be interesting to see over the next year exactly how they approach it and how they fare. For an article on their latest announcements, check out this source. And this one. And their official announcements.