Television Meets the Internet

What would a television be without the internet?  What would the internet be without television?  These are the types of questions we will be asking ourselves in 5 to 10 years.  Google recently announced a new platform called Google TV.  This mega merger of entertainment will bring all kinds of web content right into the family room.  A concept that has been dreamed about for a long time by many different electronics and software companies.  This concept is nothing new, there are many devices on the market today that attempt to merge this concept, but what’s different here is that it’s not just Google, its Intel, and Sony all working together to bring this to fruition.

Why would Google want to bother mixing what they do best with the family room television?  Google has recently been on the forefront of developing applications (apps) for both the computer and smartphones.  The software platforms are Google’s chrome software and Android technology.  Both open software platforms will allow many different types of apps to function in a media environment.  This combination of super power companies will allow the regular TV user to enhance their viewing experience.  Google’s motto has always been to enhance the users’ experience.  Imagine now the possibilities of an internet technology company dominating the viewing experience in the living room.

Google TV in a majority of homes has many different advertising, marketing and data mining applications.  Google has the opportunity to become the largest ratings and data provider, surpassing an industry monopolized by Nielsen.  This advantage of being a ratings and data provider will give Google a large advantage over the Nielsen ratings which have a mystery to within their own.  The Nielsen ratings have never been able to prove how accurate these ratings are due to the fact that it’s such a small sampling of the population.   If a major media player were to own this important piece of entertainment data, the financial possibilities are endless.  Could we see AdWords and product placements during actual TV shows?  Could there be advertising on top of commercials?  Could you opt in to certain advertisers, such as movie trailers and products of interest?  Google has the potential to become a market maker and own a very large piece on the ground floor of a new and innovative advertising platform.