Google makes another bid to push Google TV
29 Oct 2011
Google Inc is making another bid to push its web-savvy television sets, targeting a vast new market despite the lukewarm reaction of consumers to one of its initial offerings.
In separate announcements yesterday, the internet search company unveiled a revamped version of its Google TV service and announced plans to create about one hundred online "channels" of original video programming for its YouTube website.
The YouTube channels would feature videos created though partnerships with various media organisations. It would also involve celebrities including rapper Jay-Z, Madonna and skateboarder Tony Hawk.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the partnerships involved over $100 million in upfront payments by Google to the various partners.
The new 2.0 version of Google TV features new tools for recommending movies, TV programmes and online videos to TV viewers, making it easier for software developers to create new apps for the television screen.
Google TV currently comes built-in, on certain Sony Corp television models as also on Logitech International set-top boxes and allows access to online videos and websites on their TVs, as also to play with specialised apps including video games.
