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Smart(er) TV!

When an unfamiliar song comes on the radio and you are trying to find out the artist with knowledge of only a few lyrics, you “Google It.”

When you are studying for a Information Systems Final and forget what cloud-computing is, you “Google It.”

The phrase “Google It” is synonymous with the action of requesting information from online search engines. Now, with the introduction of Google TV, this coined phrase is posed to take over popular action phrases such as “TiVo It” and “DVR It.”

Google is teaming up with Sony to launch Google TV, another interactive product joining the ranks of Apple, Logitech, and Roku in the rapidly expanding Internet Television market. Although there are not a lot of details about this new Google TV technology, it is a safe bet to believe that their version will have similar features to Apple TV. Apple and Google seem like two different companies competing in contrasting industries, but as technology propels our society into social platforms, Apple TV and various other Internet Television systems are positioned to shake up the couch-potato world!

As the future wife of a Googler, I am impartial to Google technologies and our household has high hopes for the new Google product. After doing extensive research, we have identified areas where Google could capitalize on by taking into account how the TV industry is changing due to inventions such as the Apple TV, and by learning from Apple TV’s successes, as well as areas of improvement.

A Briefing On Apple TV and What It Can Offer

Here is a quick summary of Apple TV that will help you compare it to the Google TV system which is launching this weekend! (Exciting!)

Instead of selling a whole television console, Apple TV comes in the form of a small digital media receiver and designed to play content from the ITunes Store, YouTube, Flickr, Netflix, and MobileMe. Apple TV adapts to any flat screen TV, which makes it nice when newlyweds like us are trying to save money on furnishing our new home. Originally named iTV, the Apple TV system supports downloading and streaming podcasts as well as viewing photos, playing music, and watching videos.

The Bottom Line

Apple TV, Roku and Google are all trying to transform the TV viewing experience by revolutionizing the old television model. These new technological devices are able to take advantage of the content on Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes. If Google TV is to be successful they need to seriously consider the following business and technological issues and trends in the industry.

Business Issues

With the emergence of technologies such as DVR, consumers are able to skip annoying commercials. The business implication of this is that Television advertising is becoming less valuable due to a decreasing audience.

On the other side, advertisements played during shows on the web have the ability to be more targeted which is an attractive characteristic for big time advertisers. The more targeted and relevant ads that companies disseminate, the higher return on investment they will realize due to a more captive audience. According to a SNL Kagan report, the number of people using Web instead of pay TV to get professionally produced programming is projected to grow by 700% from 2009 to 2014.

Technology Issues

Traditional TV is outdated with the ever-changing environment we live in because of the “Internet age.” Traditional TV is a one-way distribution model where shows are broadcasted to you at set times and you have very little say in the process except for flipping through the channels. However, the new generation of television watchers growing up is used to highly personalized content. Gen Yers can customize their shoes, Facebook profiles, and their smartphones. Even the ads that the Internet generation is accustomed to are highly targeted. The reason why consumers are disengaging from traditional TV is because it is broadcasting too much irrelevant content. People don’t care about having 300 channels that they don’t watch, rather, they just want to be able to watch their favorite shows and discover more good ones without having to “surf” so much.

Traditional TV needs to shift with the evolving times and change their one-way distribution model to one where its users can participate. A two-way distribution model. Where Apple TV, Netflix, Hulu, and eventually Google TV have succeeded is their ability to empower users to choose what they want to watch, when they want to watch. Bringing highly relevant content at the fingertips of television watchers will be critical to keep their attention.

The new revolutionaries in the TV industry cannot forget that TV is a very lazy and simple pastime. While people want some level of customization and choice, consumers are prewired to expecting a very relaxed experience when simply clicking on the TV and “vegging” out. Where Apple TV did a really good job is creating a very intuitive user experience. Consumers of Apple products were already familiar with the Macbooks and iPods and how they seamlessly integrated with iTunes. Picking up on the AppleTV was not a major leap to make. That is a huge competitive advantage and brand that competitors will have some difficulty overcoming.

Conclusion

Google TV has the opportunity to create the ultimate set-top box of the future that makes it easy to search for shows and integrates web video content with live television content. Google intertwined with TV does not only have great technological benefits, but it also boasts amazing business opportunities. Google could track your preferences and TV watching happens with the account you create with them and during the commercial breaks when watching TV you would view contextual advertisements that align with your tastes and TV watching habits. As long as Google follows what Apple did with providing consumers a simple and streamlined experience, the Internet search giant could find major success with combining its search utility and analytics with TV to create super smart Google TV!

Works Cited

11, Garett Rogers | March, 2010, and 9:31pm PST. "Google TV: How it could change things | ZDNet ." Technology News, Analysis, Comments and Product Reviews for IT Professionals | ZDNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

Hills, Jonathan. "Can Google TV, Apple TV and Roku Change The TV industry? | The Spinning Hamster." Jonathan Hills - Digital user experience on The Spinning Hamster. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

Hills, Jonathan. "Can Google TV, Apple TV and Roku Change The TV industry? | The Spinning Hamster." Jonathan Hills - Digital user experience on The Spinning Hamster. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

"Set-top box - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

"The way we watch TV is changing due to the web and other options - David Jaap, Internet Marketing Consultant." David Jaap, Internet Marketing Consultant. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2011. .

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