Internet Tv Wars: Google vs. Sony

It looks like the battle for internet based television is stepping up yet again! We get wind of moves by both Sony and Google today thanks to the murky caves of Yahoo:

A major Hollywood studio and online search engine Google Inc unveiled separate moves on Monday to put movie and TV-like content on the Web, highlighting the way in which both see the Internet as critical to reaching customers.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, a unit of Sony Corp, said it plans to make the Will Smith action film “Hancock,” which opens on Wednesday, available online to owners of the Web-connected Sony Bravia TV before the movie goes out on DVD.

In another high-profile initiative, Web search and advertising company Google has signed a deal with Seth MacFarlane, 34, creator of the Fox animated TV show “Family Guy,” to produce short cartoons for the Web, said Google spokesman Daniel Rubin. The cartoons will be paired with advertisements placed on targeted Web sites, and will also be available on the Google-owned video-sharing site YouTube.com, Rubin said.

Television shows will no doubt have a myriad of delivery systems in the not too distant future, with IP TV, VOD, Satellite, Cable and a host of other delivery methods competing for top banana.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Google has an online network planned for the future. A place where you can go online and stream your favorite shows is something that I would find very appealing. Knowing Google they will no doubt offer the content for free and make revenue off of advertising. In time I wonder if Google will finance its own shows and have a network full of original content. Will Google TV be a network that rivals NBC, ABC, CBC and the like? It is tough to say, the crystal ball is murky…but I certainly would not be surprised if big changes are on the horizon when it comes to the average person watching TV.

Sony has also made a smart move with its Web connected Bravia TV. Whoever wins the broadcasting war is unimportant to Sony – they will still require the hardware to do so. Allowing Bravia owners to see Hancock before the DVD release is an excellent way to introduce the web features of the television to the owners of the set. If Sony offers their movies at a discount to hardware owners, I think that it would be a fantastic perk of buying the brand.