Viacom Joins Others to Block Their Content From Google TV
posted Sunday Nov 28, 2010 by Nicholas DiMeo
I know we haven't really discussed Google TV and their happenings, but we figured everyone understood that it could be a really cool product but somehow Google would find another way to "implement now, fix later" and it would fail something epic. Miraculously, big box retailers, the media, the press and everyone else had other plans and have taken Google TV under their wings and tried to make it fly. I guess the word "Google" in Google TV didn't give away that it was made by the same corporation that couldn't even get Buzz to buzz.
At any rate, Google TV's initial ad campaign was interesting and the product was slowly taking off. Well, that simply cannot happen, so the last frontier, the final line of defense, the TV companies have decided to take matters into their own hands and take out Google TV themselves.
How and who, you ask? Well I have that information for you, after the break.
Viacom has jumped aboard the SS We're Scared of the Internet and Cord-Cutting (people canceling their TV subscriptions) and has pulled all of its content from Google TV's Web browser. So that now makes Viacom the captain of the ship with Fox, ABC, CBS and NBC swabbing the decks and looking for more ways to withhold their treasure.
Let's have a look at part of Viacom's manifesto.
We're blocking access to our full episode content from Google TV's Web browser. We continue to evaluate Google TV to identify opportunities where it may make sense to optimize our Web content for the platform.
Now, I must address the actions being taken here by the cable companies. They are showing, yet again, that they are scared to make the transition to the Internet. The future is imminent and yet these companies still cling to their values from the 1960s.
Yes, users might want to stream shows over the Internet whenever they like instead of watching them on cable boxes and from their wall outlets. And yes, ad dollars are far more scarce on the Internet at this point in time, whereas you can easily drop millions on the old school tubes.
But all it would take is one big company - say Viacom, for instance - to make the jump and everyone would follow suit, as would the money. The reason advertising isn't as successful online as it could be is because you have people who are trying to implement tactics from one medium into another. When online blogs became popular, print designers tried to design websites online and failed miserably, because the mediums are different. The same thing is occurring here and it would only take one rising ad content creator to put together a brand new strategy, get a big company behind it, implement it and the dollars would flow like Mbps down a fiber line.
I digress, though. Viacom's pulled out... of Google and that includes MTV, VH1, BET, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central on top of the other companies which includes of all ESPN's programming. This is a big hit for Google, and the company has been trying to do damage control by persuading the execs, but it's not working. Oh, and it should be noted that just last month Viacom's CEO said he wasn't worried about cord-cutting and it "wasn't affecting our business." Hmm.
Do you have Google TV or any other streaming Internet service and a cable subscription? Tell us in the comments!
