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[telecom] Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels

Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels

By BRIAN STELTER July 16, 2013

If Google has its way, you might someday get cable television the same way you get Gmail: through any ordinary Internet connection.

Foreshadowing a new challenge to entrenched cable and satellite providers, Google is one of several technology giants trying to license TV channels for an Internet cable service, according to people with direct knowledge of the company's efforts.

No deals are imminent. But Google's recent meetings with major media companies that own channels are a sign of the newfound race to sell cablelike services via the Internet, creating an alternative to the current television packages that 100 million American households buy from companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

Intel is hard at work on one such service and companies like Sony and Microsoft have previously shown interest in the same idea, called an "over the top" service because the channels would ride on top of existing broadband connections. They need support from the channel owners, though, and so far that has been tepid.

Google, which also owns YouTube, the world's largest online video site, declined to comment on its television interest. But by instigating conversations with channel owners about a service that would compete with the likes of Comcast, the company is taking a different tack than its rival Apple, which has been trying to collaborate with both channel owners and their distributors on a TV offering.

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Reply to
Monty Solomon
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Er - how many of us get our internet connection from our cable company? IIRC naked internet isn't a very attractive buy.

Reply to
Julian Thomas

Remember that Google is building its own fiber to the home network in Kansas City and other cities. That makes it a lot more interesting than it is here in T-W land.

At least we can get IPv6.

Reply to
John Levine

I so hope Google jumps into other cities, particularly on the east coast. I'd love to see Cox and Verizon with a viable competitor like Google.

***** Moderator's Note *****

I doubt they'll be able to. The existing LEC's, and the cable co's, have been busy locking up every available right-of-way for years.

Bill Horne Moderator

Reply to
T

Competitor in which market? Internet access or video?

If you're discussing HSI, then I agree: Google has the advantage in speed.

If you're discussing video, then please explain how you think Google could be a "viable competitor" to Cox and Verizon. Are you raising the "a-la-carte" issue again? If so, please see previous discussions about this subject at

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Huh? How does one "lock up" right-of-way?

I agree that every new competitor has a more difficult time getting pole space for overhead plant than previous occupants faced. At some point, pole space on every pole reaches legal capacity as additional facilities are added. Of course, if a pole were replaced at a previous occupant's request (at the previous occupant's cost of course) then there might be plenty of space.

I agree that every new competitor has a more difficult time getting clear space for underground plant. Every buried cable within a strip of ground makes it more difficult for the next company to add another cable without damaging existing cables. This is especially true in older established neighborhoods where any attempt to bury anything has to deal with whatever is on the surface. See my previous posts at

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I agree that every new competitor may have a more difficult time getting a legal right to utilize existing rights-of-way. Landowners (local franchise authorities, private property owners, government agencies, railroad companies) have legitimate reasons for resisting additional facilities in their rights-of-way (traffic disruption; surface damage; appearance; possible damage to existing facilities). Even the most sanctimonious "we need competition for our greedy cable company" homeowner may have second thoughts when a construction crew arrives in his/her back yard.

All of these situations make it more difficult for the next guy (Google or anybody else) to add new facilities to existing ROWs. But I don't see how that justifies the claim that an existing LEC or CATV is attempting to "lock up" the ROW.

Neal McLain

Reply to
Neal McLain

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