On the heels of similar partnerships with DirecTV last May and Verizon FiOs in July, Google TV announced a new arrangement this morning with Cox Media, the advertising arm of Cox Communications, the third largest U.S. cable operator with 6.2 million subscribers. Google will give its advertising partners—companies like Lenovo, Bloomberg and Coldwell Banker—the opportunity to run television spots on Cox’s 75 networks.
Television advertising, at more than $65 billion annually, may seem impervious to erosion by interactive digital forces, but it’s just a matter of time before widespread consumer adoption translates into sizable shifts in marketer spending. That time is near at hand, according to the experts and the major catalysts are Google and Facebook.
As predicted by just about everyone, Facebook’s “awesome” new product is video calling, powered by Skype. Facebook rolled it out Wednesday — it’s a quick plugin download — and you simple click a “call” button next to a user’s profile and it rings them on the other end. If the user doesn’t answer, you can leave a video message. So what does it all mean for TV, the original video communication system? Here are a few ideas and applications, some of which are already happening.
Google Inc. is in preliminary talks to buy online video pioneer Hulu, people familiar with the situation said. Hulu has begun meeting with potential buyers including Google, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. to drum up interest in a sale, said these people, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential. The presentations to the potential suitors are a first step as Hulu’s owners weigh whether to sell the site after having received an overture from Yahoo.
Exclusives
In an ad campaign using the old-fashioned medium of primetime TV, Google is promoting its browser, Chrome, in the belief that it will benefit Google search.
Independent film studio Miramax is in licensing talks with Netflix and other video services — including Amazon, Hulu and Google — to distribute its 700-film library online. No agreement has been reached, however the terms for any deal would likely exceed $100 million.
France’s privacy watchdog levies its largest fine ever, $141,300. This marks the first time Google’s Street View has been penalized.
Executives at both Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., among other companies, have held low-level talks with those at Twitter Inc. in recent months to explore the prospect of an acquisition of the messaging service, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks have so far gone nowhere, these people say. But what’s remarkable is the money that people familiar with the matter say frames the discussions with at least some potential suitors: an estimated valuation in the neighborhood of $8 billion to $10 billion.
Google’s Schmidt Eyeing TV Show
Sources say outspoken Google honcho Eric Schmidt, who announced his plan to hand over control of the tech giant last week, has been consulting with CNN’s Parker Spitzer executive producer Liza McGuirk on developing a show featuring himself as host.
Google Inc., which helped popularize the idea of automated ad sales on the Web, has been quietly turning to an old-fashioned tool — phone calls — to compete in the hot market for local business advertising.
The soon-to-be owners of Miramax are looking at a deal with Google Inc. to generate revenue from the independent film studio’s 700-film library. The deal talks are a signal that under former News Corp. executive Mike Lang, who is expected to become chief executive of Miramax once a sale to Ron Tutor and Colony Capital closes next month, Miramax will be looking to new digital distribution platforms to generate profits from its content.
One month after the search-advertising giant Google lost its perch within several cable outlets owned by NBC Universal, it has secured a deal with Verizon’s emerging Fios video system.
A feisty Eric Schmidt fired back at the major broadcast networks over their reluctance to allow their content to be accessed via Google TV, implying that the execs simply don’t get the concept of Web-enabled television — and that fear was driving their decisions.
YouTube wants to be the boob tube. Google is pitching YouTube not only as a popular Web destination, but as a content channel to have a place in the living room alongside TV networks like ABC, CBS and NBC. As Google targets the TV set, it is also making a play for TV-sized ad buys rather than smaller online budgets.
