Update: Google says it’s actively negotiating with the networks.
We discovered a couple days ago that Hulu is blocking users from watching its shows on Google TV, and now ABC, CBS and NBC are doing the same, reports the Wall Street Journal. Fox has yet to make a decision.
Of course, this is all very interesting from the perspective of local affiliates. If people can watch network shows a la carte on their TV sets, then the highest-rated daypart known as primetime risks becoming an artifact. And economically, that’s not good news. The urgency for local TV is simple: produce and aggressively distribute unique, compelling local content that you control. For the networks, well, we’ll see how this battle plays out. Remember, many of them have cable TV channels of their own, so they’re not inclined to make enemies with cable companies. (And in NBC’s case, Comcast will soon become its majority owner.)
Meanwhile, we can still watch the same shows via the Mac Book plugged into our TV set (because those sites would not be able to detect that we’re doing so.) In our quest to replicate our cable TV service via the web, it looks like we should wait on the Google TV purchase… for now. And perhaps in the short term, a Mac Mini wired to the TV set with a wireless keyboard and mouse would do very nicely. Combined with Xbox+Kinect (Netflix and ESPN3) and over-the-air, that would get us 90% of the way there.
But as Jason DeRusha (a television reporter) says in comments below, “This seems like way too much work for all but the most serious of nerds.” And that’s the point. Google TV makes it easy. And that’s when the network worry.
Meanwhile: A Morgan Stanley Analyst predicts if too many people cut cable service, cable companies may double internet access prices. (Thanks @donlday!)