TV Providers Ban Google TV in Piracy Dispute

From DailyTech: Your plans to watch those missed new episodes of Chuck on your shiny new Google TV may have to be put on hold. ABC, NBC, and CBS have all blocked Sony's new HDTVs that pack Google TV from accessing their treasure trove of online episodes that are accessible from the PC for free.

ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co., and NBC, a unit of General Electric's NBC Universal, both still allow the Google TVs to access free teaser clips. CBS, a part of CBS Corp., does not appear to even allow access to teaser clips.

Other television providers have clearly come out in support of Google. Among those who provide Google TVs with optimize content include Time Warner Inc.'s HBO, Turner Broadcasting networks, and -- ironically -- NBC Universal's CNBC.

Still other providers like MTV Networks and Fox, a piece of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, remain on the fence with content still accessible, but no official endorsement has been announced yet. A Fox spokesperson is quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying, "A firm decision has not yet been reached."

It appears that ABC, NBC, and CBS are blocking Google TV both out of fear that they'll draw less ad revenue from the online episodes, and out of anger at Google's unwillingness to apply filtering to its internet search results. Google TV says it has "optimized" its built in search to show legal episodes first, though illegally uploaded episodes may still pop up.

View: Article @ Source Site