News & Information for Technology Purchasers
NewsFactor Network Sites:   NewsFactor.com Security CRM Business Sci-Tech Newsletters XML/RSS Feed  
   
Home Enterprise I.T. Hardware Software Disaster Recovery More Topics...
World Wide Web
Average Rating:
Rate this article:  
Google Testing Personalized Search for TV Programs Google Testing Personalized Search for TV Programs
By Jennifer LeClaire
March 9, 2010 8:05AM

    Bookmark and Share
Google is reportedly testing a television-programming search service with Dish Network, using set-top boxes with Google software. Google's TV service will reportedly allow viewers to personalize a lineup of shows. The testing could extend Google's ad model to TV. With videos and the web merging on TV, Google's search service could be popular.
 


As Internet and television continue to converge, Google is actively testing a new television-programming search service with Dish Network, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The service reportedly runs on TV set-top boxes that host Google software and enable viewers to find shows on Dish and video on web sites like YouTube. The Journal cited people familiar with the matter who said the service will allow viewers to personalize a lineup of shows.

The report follows TiVo's launch last week of digital video recorders that combine broadcast and web content. Microsoft and Apple are also looking for their place in the hybrid broadcast-web space. Google's experiment offers the search giant access to 14 million Dish viewers, signaling the potential to yield valuable results.

Consumer Experience and Advertising

As Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence, sees it, there are two overlapping angles here: Consumer experience and advertising.

"Obviously online Google satisfies consumer search queries and serves targeted ads against those. This would appear to extend the same model to TV," Sterling said. "But the ad component would also feature a behavioral element -- viewing history -- as part of the targeting."

Television seems like a natural extension of Google ads, especially as set-top boxes combine the ability to search and view content from traditional and Internet broadcasters. Google is intent on pushing its Android operating system beyond mobile Relevant Products/Services devices to set-top boxes, buddy boxes, and TVs, a Journal interview with Google CEO Eric Schmidt in January suggested.

A New Search Frontier

Google has the lion's share of Internet search and is actively battling for mobile search. Can Google succeed in translating its search dominance to yet another screen? That remains to be seen, especially in an ultracompetitive market for set-top boxes. But Google sees the potential -- and so does Sterling.

"As the Internet and traditional video content increasingly mingle on the TV screen -- there are data that now argue that almost 25 percent of U.S. TV viewers getting Internet content on TV directly or through a set-top box -- there will be a need for a search-like service to help discover and navigate it," Sterling said.

With 168 million U.S. Internet users watching online videos in September, according to comScore, and nearly 26 billion videos viewed during a month, the opportunity is clear. And with the convergence of broadcast and Internet video, the opportunity is drawing plenty of attention.

Sterling pointed to several companies working to index or organize Internet video or attempting to catalog web and traditional programming in a single application or experience. One of those, Clicker, just raised $11 million in Series B funding.

"Google has for some time been trying to do a better job with targeting TV and online video advertising through its partnerships and 'TV ads' program," Sterling said. "Eventually the TV will be just another screen through which consumers get Internet content. And Google also wants to be there when that becomes mainstream."
 

Tell Us What You Think
Comment:

Name:



Advertisement


 World Wide Web
1.   Symantec Unwraps Norton 2011 Suite
2.   Craigslist Strikes Adult Services Ads
3.   Coming to TV This Fall -- Google
4.   Exploding Google Logo Means... What?
5.   Consumer Watchdog Attacks Google


advertisement
Google in Real Time Targets TwitterGoogle in Real Time Targets Twitter
Conversations view organizes tweets.
Average Rating:
Facebook Places May Hurt FoursquareFacebook Places May Hurt Foursquare
Alerts intended to ease privacy fears.
Average Rating:
Tweet Button Pulls Twitter FollowersTweet Button Pulls Twitter Followers
One click tips your pals to cool stuff.
Average Rating:
Product Information and Resources for Technology You Can Use To Boost Your Business

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight
Dell's Data Center Ambitions Remain Undaunted
Dell doesn't have to start over in its quest to become a significant purveyor of technology for businesses after losing a multibillion dollar bidding contest for a little-known data-storage maker.
 
Samsung Unleashes Its Galaxy Tab on Apple's iPad
Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab, a tablet PC aimed at Apple's iPad, at the IFA electronics show in Germany. Samsung presented the tablet with a pun that cites a "new galaxy of possibilities."
 
Toshiba Will Offer Android-Based Folio 100 Tablet
The rapidly growing category of tablets has a new family member as Toshiba announced that its Folio 100, a 10.1-inch, Android 2.2-based tablet computer, will be on sale in Europe by the end of October.
 

Navigation
NewsFactor Network
Home/Top News | Enterprise I.T. | Hardware | Software | Disaster Recovery | Network Security | Wireless Tech | Linux/Open Source
Apple/Macintosh | Microsoft/Windows | World Wide Web | Data Storage | E-Commerce | Personal Tech | Cloud & Virtualization | Press Releases
NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites
NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily

NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites
Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report

NewsFactor Services
FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | Free Whitepapers | XML/RSS Feed

About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
© Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo. Member of Accuserve Ad Network.