The future of Google TV is uncertain freedom

Last year, Google surprised the online video publishers with some amazing news: the company, which is now born more than a quarter of a trillion dollars with advertising every year, has effectively admitted that it is not good in selling its ads, the smart TV platform, Google TV.

The problem with the heart: Google has long requested publishers to share a percentage of their stock of ads on Google TV. It is a common industrial practice. Companies like Roku or Vizio routinely sell a sub -set of advertising sites that you see when you watch videos from third -party publishers on their smart TVs, and make money as compensation to run their smart TV platforms.

But Google changed the training course on its private deals with publishers of blue and gave advertising sites in advance for them, she managed to confirm three sources with the knowledge of these changes. The company now only requires reducing their advertising revenues – an implicit recognition that these companies are better selling their own ads.

Politics change is just an example of something that Google has been afflicted for a long time: after planting Google TV on a major smart TV platform, Google has struggled to achieve income from it. The company spends hundreds of millions of dollars on Google TV every year, but it has not yet violated these efforts. It has been told me by two sources of knowledge of the issue. With the explosion of costs, the company now finds itself at a crossroads, forcing the extent of its willingness to pay to remain relevant in the smart TV space.

Google TV sowed quickly, but its liquefaction is missing

The current Google Smart TV efforts reach 2014, when Android TV launched as a way to bring Android to the living room. These efforts were super charging in 2020, when she united ChromeCast and Android TV under the Google TV logo, complete with a new TV user interface that focuses larger on the discovery of content. I was told that the plan is to follow the Playbook book for the company’s mobile phones: Invest in the scale first and then intensify the income.

It can be said that the Google TV team has succeeded with the first part of that task. The company announced A milestone of 270 million Monthly active smart TVs and television connected devices last September; One of the sources of knowledge told me that he has mostly exceeded the sign of 300 million since then.

However, many of these devices are in the outstanding external markets, and the operation of a good piece known as Tier Tier Android TV – a version of the Android TV program in Android that can be greatly customized by paid TV operators, and often leaves a little, if any, space for Google’s quality to earn any money.

For this reason it is extremely important that Google has a foothold in the smart TV market in North America, where it has been partnership with companies like Sony, TCL and HISENSE to run Google TV on their TV devices. However, doing this comes at great costs – and it becomes only more expensive, thanks to the Google’s aggressive moves.

Last year, Amazon Declare Fire Hisenesse TVs will start selling in Costco. It is left of this advertisement is the fact that these TV devices will replace the manufactured TVs that run Google TV.

Amazon managed to play Google from Costco shelves by spending it significantly on something known in the industry as Butties: Every time Costco sells Hisenesse Fire TV, Amazon sends some money to Hisenese and Costco. The exact conditions of these deals are confidential, but I was told by two sources that the Amazon is likely to end up paying up to $ 50 for each active TV. Amazon refused to comment when calling her to this story.

Google pays these types of bonuses to TV makers and chosen retailers, but not at Amazon levels. In the face of the possibility of having to get rid of more money to keep the shelf space and maintain happy devices partners, some people in the company are now wondering whether Google TV is really worth it.

“The success of our platforms is rooted in the success and size of our partners and application developers, including Shalini Joville Bay, Vice President of Google and General Manager of TV platforms, when calling the comment on this story,” said the success of our partners and the size of our partners and service developers, although we may have specific work arrangements With our partners, our focus is always on driving product innovation and user experience. This is reflected in the high user assessments and the global extent of more than 270 million active users per month. We continue to invest on Google TV because we believe that the TV remains the center for families for gathering. “

YouTube does not need Google TV

All this happens because YouTube is witnessing tremendous success in the living room: YouTube’s TV show has increased in recent years. Video service It represents 12.5 percent of all TV viewing In the United States, i.e. May, it is now 25 percent of all TV broadcasts. The revenue of the YouTube Declaration was 9.8 billion dollars The last quarter.

In light of this, Google’s sales representatives give YouTube priorities on Google TV, which was one of the reasons for changing the conditions for sharing revenue with publishers. Although the presence of its own smart TV platform was seen at the beginning as a bargaining slice in negotiations to obtain YouTube on third -party devices, there is a great need now that you have become so huge that you can effectively dictate the terms of the contract to other devices. As a result, YouTube executive officials have shown little attention to Google TV, as some argue that Google will be better than spending Google TV budget on YouTube instead.

There are already signs that Google re -thinking about spending on Google TV: Information I mentioned for the first time About the budget discounts that affect Google TV in June. However, although this report focused largely on the demobilization of workers, multiple sources told me that the number of people who leave it is actually in line with the company The broader discounts Through its devices and the service unit. The real problem, which I told by three sources, is the increased discomfort within Google to keep the bill for the retail area rewards from Google TV.

Currently, the company still pays these rewards. However, a source with the knowledge of these talks told me that Google is looking for shorter conditions for the types of commercial agreements with TV makers that govern the rewards, indicating that they may approach their level of investment on these rewards in the near future.

What comes then is guessing anyone. Google is unlikely to give up its TV efforts completely. But with a much smaller budget and is unable to compete effectively with companies like Roku and Amazon, there is a possibility that the company can deal with smart TVs similar to the way Apple has long been close to the space: more than just an expensive hobby.

This is it LowPass Written by Yanko RutgersA column on the intersection of technology and entertainment continuously freedom Once the subscribers a week.