Will Google TV hurt Hollywood?

Google's plan to integrate television with the internet has given Hollywood executives the "jitters," reports the Los Angeles Times. Dubbed Google TV, the new technology will enable users to watch online video on television — something entertainment industry executives fear will cause a rise in piracy and a decline in advertising revenue. Google's head of TV technology, Vincent Dureau, says the company is simply "putting a browser in the TV," making it easier to deliver shows in ways "the studios and the networks are already doing" with sites like Hulu. Does Hollywood have reason to be afraid? (Watch a Google TV demo)

Yes, this makes Google a TV powerhouse: Google certainly poses a problem for Hollywood, says Alex Williams in Read Write Web. But that's primarily due to the entertainment industry's unwillingness to innovate with the times. Google's approach to TV is sure to become the norm. Unless Hollywood wholeheartedly embraces this sprouting technology, it will be headed for "obsolescence."

"How the cloud changes TV and why Hollywood should not be scared"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Google TV is nothing without Hollywood's content: Actually, it's Google that should be afraid, says Seth Weintraub in Fortune. Remember, Hollywood controls the "top notch content." And without content you "can't sign on the kind of advertisers who can pay for those coveted high profile show commercials." Google TV has to "convince network executives" that their platform "can adequately reimburse them for content," or it will never get off the ground.

"Google having trouble landing the big fish for Google TV?"

Sorry, Hollywood. Technology always wins: Hollywood might as well give up the fight, says Patrick Goldstein in the L.A. Times. "Whenever new technology emerges that allows consumers more choices," the companies making money off the old model suffer. It makes sense that Hollywood would "fight tooth and nail to stop Google from invading their lucrative territory," but history shows this is a losing battle.

"Will Google TV do to Hollywood what Napster did to the music biz?"